Several countries including the United States have again droppedé Thursday food parcels à the Palestinian population à Gaza threatened with famine and bombarded relentlessly by Israel, hopes of a rapid truce fading five months later ;s the start of a devastating war. US President Joe Biden will announce in his State of the Union address that he has ordered the US military to build a temporary port in Gaza to transport more aid by sea humanitarian aid in the besieged Palestinian territory, according to officials in Washington. Triggered on October 7 by a bloody attack of unprecedented scale by Hamas against Israel, this war has so far left 30,800 dead in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, said the Ministry of Health of the Palestinian Islamist movement, counting at least 83 dead in the last 24 hours. The Israeli retaliatory offensive has also caused a humanitarian disaster with 2.2 million of the 2.4 million inhabitants threatened with famine and around 1.7 million displaced people in the cramped Palestinian territory, according to the UN. “Children are dying or fainting in the streets due to the hungry and we can't do anything,” volunteer Bassam Al-hou told AFP during a meal distribution in Jabaliya, northern Gaza. < p>According to the Hamas Ministry of Health, at least 20 civilians, most of them children, died of malnutrition and dehydration. While humanitarian aid, subject to the green light from Israel, only enters Gaza in trickles from Egypt, several countries have in recent days dropped meals, particularly in the north of the territory where the Delivery of aid is almost impossible due to fighting, destruction and sometimes looting. < img alt = "israeli army" src = "https://img-4.linternaute.com/fbq17yfhusbkeqoz3bjef8x0fpi=/600x/smart/e83a431b58a041d5a1fd196b7853deb/ccmcms-lintern 1.jpg " />A photo provided by the Israeli army on March 7, 2024 shows soldiers on the ground in the Gaza Strip © Israeli Army – – On Thursday, planes from the United States, Israel's main ally, Jordan, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Egypt took part in a parachute operation.< /p> But these are insufficient as the needs are immense. “Air drops are not an option to avoid famine,” said World Food Program deputy executive director Carl Skau, emphasizing pressure for Israel to allow use of the Israeli port of Ashdod, north of Gaza. – “Temporary pier” – Trucks entering the Gaza Strip © AFP – Omar KAMAL, Gal ROMA Regarding Mr. Biden's planned announcement, U.S. officials clarified that construction of the infrastructure, “a temporary pier,” would take several weeks and did not mean ground deployment of U.S. troops . The Israelis were informed of this, they added. The aid in question, according to these officials, will leave the port of Larnaca in Cyprus, the European Union country geographically closest to Gaza, where the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is expected on Friday. The international mobilization came after UN warnings of “generalized famine” in Gaza where civilians are trapped in fighting and Israeli strikes. On October 7, Hamas commandos infiltrated from Gaza carried out an attack in southern Israel that cost the lives of at least 1,160 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count based on official data. A photo taken from Rafah shows smoke rising above Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip during Israeli bombardments, March 7, 2024 © AFP – SAID KHATIB Approximately 250 people were kidnapped and taken to Gaza; 130 hostages are still being held there, 31 of whom are believed to have died according to Israel, after the release of 105 people in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners during a truce at the end of November. In response, Israel vowed to annihilate Hamas, which took power in Gaza in 2007 and which it considers a terrorist organization along with the United States and the European Union. – Not “broken” – Faced with the heavy human toll of the war and the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, the mediators -States- United, Qatar, Egypt – hoped to reach an agreement on a truce associated with the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners before Ramadan, the holy month of fasting for Muslims which begins early next week. But their discussions for four days in Cairo were suspended and “are set to resume next week”, according to pro-government Egyptian media Al-Qahera News. They are not “broken” and the “differences are fading,” said the United States Ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew. The Hamas delegation left Cairo for Doha where the leader of the movement, Ismaïl Haniyeh, is based. “Israel's initial responses” do not meet the minimum requirements” of Hamas, according to a movement official. Palestinians walk past a destroyed UN car while fleeing Khan Younes in the southern Gaza Strip, March 7, 2024 © AFP – – Gadi Eisenkot, a member of the Israeli war cabinet, claimed that Hamas was under “strong pressure” from mediators to make a “counterproposal.” “It will then be possible to take a position.” Hamas demands, before any agreement, a definitive ceasefire and a withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, which Israel refuses. – “Crying is useless” – Children carrying containers head towards a food distribution point in Khan Younes in the southern Gaza Strip, March 7, 2024 © AFP – – “The Israeli army will continue to operate throughout the Gaza Strip, including in Rafah, the last stronghold of Hamas,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated Thursday. To achieve “total victory”, Israel announced that it was preparing a ground offensive on Rafah, in the far south of the Gaza Strip against the closed border with Egypt, where according to the UN there are nearly 1.5 million Palestinians. 3 km further north, Israeli tanks left the center of Khan Yunis this week, leaving behind immense destruction after months of fighting and aerial bombardment. “What can we do ? Crying is useless. Sadness has invaded our lives”, said Jamil Agha, who decided to stay with his family in what remains of his house. Palestinians carry or transport personal belongings on carts as they flee, amid destruction, Khan Younes in the south of the Gaza Strip, March 7, 2024 © AFP – – According to witnesses, fighting continues in the west of Khan Younes, near Rafah and in Gaza City (north) and Israeli strikes have targeted several sectors of Palestinian territory including Rafah and Khan Younes . In the evening, rocket warning sirens from Gaza sounded in areas of southern Israel, the army said. All rights of reproduction and representation reserved. © (2024) Agence France-Presse
By Teilor Stone
Teilor Stone has been a reporter on the news desk since 2013. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining Thesaxon , Teilor Stone worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my teilor@nizhtimes.com 1-800-268-7116