The Israeli Army said this Wednesday, March 20, that it killed 90 people it claims were “armed men” and arrested 160 during its new offensive against the Al-Shifa hospital in northern Gaza, which began two days ago. However, witnesses and the local Ministry of Health had reported indiscriminate shooting by troops against doctors and patients. As the Israeli Army intensifies its offensive, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in the Middle East, on his sixth trip since the ongoing conflict began, to press for a ceasefire agreement. The head of American diplomacy is scheduled to hold meetings in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Already 31,929 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in more than five months of war in Gaza, the vast majority are civilians, including thousands of childrenaccording to the latest figures from the enclave's Ministry of Health, released this Wednesday, March 20.
In the last few hours, new attacks by the Army of the Jewish-majority country against the Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir Al-Balah, in central Gaza, were also recorded, killing several people, images broadcast by the Reuters news agency showed. .
The magnitude of fatalities increases dramatically, as Israel intensifies attacks that, it claims, have the objective of “eliminating” the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. And the humanitarian situation is worsening, including pockets of famine, while the diplomatic field has still not achieved the new truce that has been on the table for several weeks.
In the midst of this panorama, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in the Middle East, his sixth official trip to the region since the ongoing conflict began. A new attempt by Washington to achieve a truce.
Blinken seeks to press for an agreement between the Israeli Army and Hamas that guarantees a temporary pause in attacks, the release of hostages held by the Islamist group and efforts to bring urgently needed humanitarian aid to the blockaded Palestinian enclave.
Blinken is scheduled to meet with leaders of Saudi Arabiain Jeddah, and from Egyptin Cairo, in order to address the negotiations between Qatar and Egypt for a new pact – after the one-week truce last November -, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
Blinken also noted that he would continue the talks on agreements for the governance, security and development of Gaza, once the current hostilities end.
“We have been working hard since January, particularly with our Arab partners, and we will continue those conversations, as well as discuss what is the appropriate architecture for lasting regional peace,” Blinken said at a press conference during a stop in Manila, just before embarking on his sixth visit to the Middle East.
The difficulties for new talks on a truce in Gaza
The challenges are enormous, especially after on Tuesday, March 19, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahureported that in a telephone conversation with President Joe Biden He made it clear that he maintains his plan to launch a ground raid on Rafah. According to the premier, a full-fledged offensive there – where his troops are currently attacking by air – is necessary, because the last strongholds of Hamas are located there.
However, it is the city in the far south of Gaza where around 1.7 million Palestinians internally displaced by the conflict take refuge, among a population of 2.3 million people, raising the concerns of the community. international, which emphasizes that this operation would cause a huge number of fatalities, the vast majority civiliansincluding children, as has happened in the rest of Gaza territory.
Although Netanyahu shows no signs of giving in to stop his offensive, a delegation from his country will participate in talks on a ceasefire that resume this week in Qatar. Besides, The Israeli Government agreed to send a team to Washington to discuss with Biden administration officials about his possible operation in Rafah. That meeting is scheduled for early next week, he said White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre.
On March 18, a Netanyahu government official, quoted by Reuters, assured that his country's negotiators will offer a six-week truce in exchange for the release of 40 kidnapped people. Israel believes there are still around 100 kidnapped people held by Hamas.
Last February, the movement that controls Gaza submitted a proposal in which it asked a ceasefire divided into three stages, each lasting 45 days, for a total of 135 days, the exchange of hostages for the release of 1,500 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel, the total withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, a path for end of the current war and the reconstruction of the enclave.
But his offer was flatly rejected by Netanyahu, who called it “unrealistic.”
Weeks of tough negotiations are expected for an eventual agreement between the parties and a pause in the attacks that will help alleviate the humanitarian crisis that is plaguing Gazans, after months in which the entry of water, food and medicine has been scarce and has been full of obstacles.
The escalation of the conflict of more than seven decades broke out on October 7, when Hamas broke into southern Israel, where it killed around 1,200 people, including foreigners, and kidnapped nearly 240 individuals.
Israeli army claims it killed 90 “gunmen” at Al-Shifa hospital
This Wednesday, the military institution stated that His soldiers killed about 90 “armed men” and arrested 160during the new raid against the Al-Shifa hospital, in northern Gaza, which began on March 18.
“Over the last day, troops eliminated terrorists and placed weapons in the hospital area, while preventing harm to civilians, patients, medical equipment and equipment,” the Army said in a statement.
The information is released two days after the Israeli Army raided the medical center again, in what it described as “a high-precision operation” against alleged Hamas militants who were hiding there.
In the middle of the armed operation, a fire broke out at the entrance to the medical facility, which generated cases of asphyxiation among women and children who take refuge in the hospital complex, indicated the Ministry of Health of the enclave.
That day, the Gaza Ministry of Health indicated that “casualties, including deaths and injuries,” were recorded. Additionally, civilians at the scene said that the Israeli military, backed by tanks and artillery, surrounded the hospital complex while snipers targeted people inside the medical center and that troops subsequently entered Al-Shifa, raiding several buildings. and dozens of people were arrested.
Although the hospital suffered serious damage in another Army raid last November, it has since partially operated and also serves as a refuge center for thousands of Gazans remaining in the north of the enclave. According to the Ministry of Health, Around 30,000 people were staying there at the time of the recent raid, including patients, medical staff and families who have fled their homes in search of safety.
With Reuters and AP
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