This Saturday in Amman, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken rejected the call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza presented to him jointly by several Arab countries. Blinken argued that a cessation of hostilities would benefit Hamas by allowing it to regroup its forces in Gaza to continue the attack on Israel. In contrast, the head of US diplomacy in the Jordanian capital defended the establishment of specific humanitarian pauses – which Israel continues not to accept – to allow the entry of humanitarian aid for the civilian population of the Palestinian enclave.
On his second regional trip since war broke out in Gaza on Oct. 7, following the Hamas attack on Israeli territory that killed 1,400 people and kidnapped another 240, Blinken warned that a ceasefire would allow the Islamist militia to carry out a deadly To repeat the attack on Israel. “No country can accept this,” the foreign minister said, quoted by Portal. “For this reason, it is important to reaffirm Israel’s right to self-defense (…), while it must respect the humanitarian laws of war and guarantee that civilians do not suffer any harm,” added Blinken, who reminded thanks to the mediation From Washington This Saturday, more than 100 trucks crossed the Rafah border crossing from Egypt (a fifth of the trucks usual before the conflict) with basic supplies for the population in the Gaza Strip.
According to health sources in the Palestinian territories controlled by Hamas since 2007, four weeks of Israeli attacks in Gaza left nearly 9,500 people dead and caused massive destruction of homes, infrastructure and health centers, as countries including Jordan and Egypt announced that these were “unacceptable” actions cannot be justified by the right to self-defense.
Both Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri and his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi stressed that cessation of hostilities was now a priority to protect civilians. Both believed that discussions initiated by the US and Israel about the future of the Gaza Strip without the presence of Hamas should be postponed until later. “How can we predict what can happen in Gaza if we don’t know what kind of Gaza Strip will be left after the war?” emphasized Safadi. “Arab countries call for an immediate ceasefire and an end to this war and the murder of innocent civilians and the destruction it causes. “We refuse to classify it as self-defense,” the Jordanian minister added in a joint press conference with Shukri and Blinken.
The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates as well as diplomatic representatives of the Palestinian Authority and the incumbent Prime Minister of Lebanon, Nayib Mikati, also met in Amman. Arab countries have expressed concern about the risk of the conflict between Israel and Hamas spreading to the region. The attacks on Israeli territory by Iran-allied Shiite groups from Lebanon (Hezbollah party militia) and Yemen (Houthi rebels) threaten to further escalate the war.
Israel strongly opposes a ceasefire in Gaza and also opposes humanitarian pauses in the distribution of aid until all Hamas-held hostages still in the Gaza Strip are released. Israeli officials claim that the Islamist organization can take advantage of lulls in hostilities to divert some humanitarian aid to its militias.
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The US envoy for humanitarian affairs in the Middle East, David Satterfield, also assured in Amman that Israel must provide guarantees that it will not attack reception centers or supply routes for humanitarian aid. Satterfield stated this Saturday that between 350,000 and 400,000 Palestinian civilians in the northern Gaza Strip remain surrounded by the advance of Israeli troops who have intensified their ground and air operations against Hamas militias.
Humanitarian hallway
The Israeli army offered to open a humanitarian corridor between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. local time (an hour less in mainland Spain) to allow civilians to leave the besieged area and travel south via the Saladino Highway into the Palestinian Strip End to end. Amid the fierce attacks in recent days, residents of the north preferred to remain hidden in their homes or in emergency shelters such as the compound of the UN facilities.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) confirmed on Saturday that the Al-Fajura UN school in the Jabalia refugee camp (north of the capital of the Gaza Strip) had been attacked by Israel. Hamas sources estimated the death toll at a dozen, including several children. Thousands of civilians had gathered on the school grounds, confident that United Nations facilities enjoyed international protection and provided high levels of security.
Israeli army spokesmen assured that their troops did not attack the UN school, but acknowledged that “the explosion of an attack on another target” could have affected the education center. A UNRWA spokeswoman told Portal that a projectile struck right in a schoolyard where tents had been set up. At least two Israeli attacks on the Jabalia refugee camp this week left nearly 200 people dead, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip.
In an unusual move, Israeli forces also launched a targeted operation in southern Gaza on Saturday using battle tanks and armored excavators to demolish several buildings planted with explosives. The majority of operations were concentrated in the north, with the obvious aim of clearing the way for an impending massive troop advance.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant assured this Saturday during a visit to the border with Lebanon that the army has “no interest in a war in the north of the country” and that its priority remains to focus on operations in Gaza. “Yahya Sinwar (Hamas leader) made a mistake (by attacking Israel) and sealed the fate of Gaza. “If Hasan Nasrallah (Hezbollah leader) also makes a mistake, he will ultimately determine the fate of Lebanon,” argued former general Gallant, according to an official statement. On the same day, exchanges of rocket and artillery fire broke out on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border.
Clouds of smoke over the city of Beit Hanon in the northern Gaza Strip after an Israeli bombardment on November 4th. ATEF SAFADI (EFE)
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