Ramadan began on Monday, March 11, in the besieged and devastated Gaza Strip, without a truce having been concluded in time in the war between Israel and Hamas. The international community is stepping up efforts to deliver aid to the population, hit by famine.
Dozens of Israeli bombings targeted several regions of Palestinian territory, according to Hamas authorities, notably the cities of Gaza (north), Khan Younes and Rafah (south). The bombings left sixty-seven dead in twenty-four hours, the health ministry controlled by the Palestinian Islamist movement announced on Monday, including four people from the same family killed by a strike on their house during prayers. dawn in Rafah.
The Israeli army said 15 Islamist fighters were killed in its operations in central Gaza on Sunday. Of the “targeted raids” also targeted houses used for “terrorist activities” in the Hamad district, in Khan Younes. Since the start of the war, bombings and fighting in the Palestinian enclave have killed at least 31,112 people, according to the Hamas health ministry.
• First aid boat ready to leave Cyprus
A ship from the Spanish NGO Open Arms loaded with 200 tonnes of food is ready to leave Cyprus, the European Union (EU) country closest to Gaza, for the Palestinian territory, as part of a corridor maritime transport announced by the EU at the end of last week. The ship is due to sail from the Mediterranean port of Larnaca, about 370 kilometers from the Gaza Strip.
But the United Nations (UN), which fears widespread famine in the territory, subjected by Israel to a total siege since October 9, affirms that the sending of aid by sea and the airdrops organized by several countries can replace the land route. International aid, controlled by Israel, is only trickling into the Gaza Strip while the needs are immense, particularly in the north of the territory, which is very difficult to access.
Humanitarian aid arrives today mainly from Egypt via Rafah, a town in Palestine on the Egyptian border, where, according to the UN, nearly 1.5 million people live in fear of a ground offensive. announced by Israel.
• A “very dangerous” situation, awaiting a truce
Despite new discussions at the beginning of March in Cairo, the United States, Qatar and Egypt, the three mediator countries, did not manage to secure a truce agreement. A source close to the negotiations, however, told Agence France-Presse on Sunday, “that there would be an acceleration of diplomatic efforts in the next ten days”. The United States fears that the situation could become “very dangerous”particularly in East Jerusalem, where the Esplanade des Mosques is located, the third holiest site in Islam, if the fighting continues throughout Ramadan.
American President Joe Biden, who has raised his voice in recent days towards Israel, sent a message of solidarity to Muslims for Ramadan. “This year, it comes at a time of immense pain”he declared, before adding: “As Muslims gather around the world in the coming days and weeks to break their fast, the suffering of the Palestinian people will be front and center for many. It is for me. »
As custodian of two of Islam’s holiest sites, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman urged the international community “to assume its responsibilities to put an end to these heinous crimes and guarantee the establishment of safe humanitarian and aid corridors”. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent “a special message of solidarity and support to all those suffering from the horrors in Gaza”. “In these difficult times, the spirit of Ramadan is a beacon of hope, a reminder of our common humanity”did he declare on.