In the Gaza Strip, which is experiencing a humanitarian crisis of ever greater proportions, Air intensives continue bombings in the context of Israel’s operations against Hamas, with no prospect of even a temporary ceasefire, as today begins Ramadan, the holy month for Muslims.

The population of the enclave, tested increasingly harshly by hunger, is desperate for food.

Ship loaded with 200 tons of aid, hired by the Spanish NGO Open Arms, was expected to leave Cyprus yesterday Sunday for the Palestinian enclave, but his departure has not been confirmed.

Yesterday residents went to the beach in the southern part of the Gaza Strip in the hope of seeing help arrive. “I have been waiting since morning as the holy month of Ramadan starts tomorrow and the situation is tragic,” said one of them, Mohammed Harara.

Jordan, USA, France, Belgium and Egypts participated in new airdrops of humanitarian aid yesterday in the Gaza Strip. But the UN, which is warning against “almost inevitable widespread famine” in the enclave, stresses that airdrops and sea transport cannot replace land routes.

Despite fresh talks in early March in Cairo, the countries that are mediating — Qatar, Egypt, the US — have failed to hammer out an agreement to declare a truce before Ramadan begins today.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniya assured yesterday that his movement remains “open to negotiations”. An AFP source in Hamas said yesterday that there will be “acceleration of diplomatic efforts in the next 10 days” in order to secure an agreement in the first half of Ramadan.

Hamas is calling for a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip before any hostage deal is struck. Israel is demanding that Hamas give it an accurate list of hostages still alive. The Palestinian Islamist movement counters that it does not know how many or who are “alive or dead”.

US fears situation will become ‘very dangerous’especially in East Jerusalem, especially in Mosque Square, the third holiest place of worship for Muslims, if the war continues in the middle of Ramadan.

In Washington, US President Joe Biden, who is under increasing criticism in the US for his staunch support for Israel, especially as the number of civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip continues to rise, wanted to show solidarity as Ramadan begins.

“This year, it’s coming to a moment of great pain,” the US president said. “As Muslims gather around the world in the coming days and weeks to break their fast, the plight of the Palestinians will be the first thought of many. And mine,” added Joe Biden.

As the custodian of Islam’s two holiest sites, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman stressed for his part that the war in the Gaza Strip tarnishes the holy month of prayer and fasting for Muslims and called on the “international community” to take initiative.

“We call on the international community to take responsibility, put an end to these heinous crimes and guarantee the creation of humanitarian and aid corridors,” he added in his message on the occasion of the start of Ramadan.

The war erupted after an unprecedented attack that day by Hamas’ military arm in southern Israel centered on the enclave, where the Islamic Resistance Movement seized power in 2007.

The attack killed 1,160 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli data.

Intensive bombing

In retaliation, Israel vowed to “eliminate” Hamas, which it, like the US and the EU, characterizes as a “terrorist” organization. In the operations carried out by the Israeli army since then, at least 31,045 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip, the vast majority of them women and children, according to the Hamas Health Ministry.

Yesterday Sunday, Hamas authorities counted 85 dead in 24 hours, in more than 60 bombings in central and southern Gaza, especially in Khan Yunis.

The war is causing a major humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army has imposed a total siege since October 9, and the UN fears “generalized famine”. “I feed my daughter with water (…) just so she doesn’t die.” I have no choice,” said Barak Abhar, her crying baby in her arms.

Humanitarian aid, which is subject to Israeli control and approval, only reaches the enclave by the dropper, mostly through Egypt, at a time when the needs are enormous.

Netanyahu-Biden

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday defended continued Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip, despite increasingly direct criticism from the US, his country’s main ally. Joe Biden judged last Saturday that the prime minister is doing “more harm than good to Israel”.

“He has the right to defend Israel, the right to continue attacking Hamas. But he must (…) pay more attention to the lives of the innocent,” Joe Biden said on MSNBC.

President Biden “is wrong,” Benjamin Netanyahu argued yesterday in an interview with Politico magazine. He assured that he is pursuing a policy that is “supported by the vast majority of Israelis” and that his compatriots also categorically reject the establishment of a Palestinian state.