In early March, shortly before the two-month ceasefire collapse in the war with Hamas, Israel completely blocked a lockdown on the Gaza Strip, with aid agencies warning of severe shortages from food and clean water to fuel and medicines.
U.S. President Donald Trump admitted on Friday that “many people are hungry” in the besieged Palestinian territory.
“We are looking at Gaza. We will be taken care of,” Trump told Abu Dhabi reporters.
Israel said its decision to cut off aid in Gaza was to force concessions from militant group Hamas, who still hijacked dozens of people who took Israel’s hostages in the October 7, 2023 attack, triggering a war.
Hamas released Edan Alexander, the last hostage with U.S. nationality, on Monday, a situation in direct contact with the Trump administration.
As part of Washington’s understanding of Alexander’s release, Taher al-Nunu, a senior Hamas official, said the group “is waiting and expecting further pressure from the U.S. government to open the intersection and immediately enter humanitarian aid.”
Nunu’s remarks come the day after Hamas warned Trump that Gaza was not “for sale” and he responded to the U.S. president, suggesting he could take over Palestinian territory and turn it into a “free zone.”
On the ground, Gaza civil defense agency said an Israeli strike killed at least 100 people on Friday.
Umm Mohammed Al-Tatari, 57, told AFP that she was awakened by the pre-dawn attack.
“We fell asleep when everything around us suddenly exploded,” she said.
“Everyone started running. We saw the destruction with our eyes. There was blood everywhere, body parts and corpses.”
“There is no safety. We can die at any time,” said Ahmed Nasr, 33, from northern Gaza.
At Beit Lahia’s Indonesian hospital, AFPTV footage shows mourners crying on the bodies of loved ones.
“They are innocent people,” Mayar Salem said. “Only their bodies are left…they are my sisters and daughters.”
“Historical Opportunity”
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According to official figures, Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023 killed 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mainly civilians.
Of the 251 hostages taken during the attack, 57 remained in Gaza, including 34 of the military said they were dead.
The Ministry of Health, which operates the territory in Hamas, said 2,985 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, with the overall loss of the war at 53,119.
Israeli media reported that the military stepped up its offense in an approval of the government-approved plan earlier this month, although there was no formal announcement of the campaign.
The military said its troops “strike more than 150 terrorist targets across the Gaza Strip” within 24 hours.
The main Israeli campaign group representing the hostage family said that through extended battles, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lacked a “historic opportunity” to get his loved ones away through diplomacy.
A rival group Tikva Forum calls for greater military pressure to “coordinate with diplomatic pressure, complete siege, cut off water and electricity”.
For weeks, UN agencies have warned of severe shortages in Gaza.
The 46-member European Council said on Friday that the territory suffered from “intentional hunger.”
Seven European countries, including five that recognize the Palestinian states – Ireland, Iceland, Slovenia, Spain and Norway – issued a joint statement denouncing what they call “the ongoing humanitarian disaster” and calling on Israel to stop military operations and lift the blockade.
Hamas said in a statement that it “highly valued the humanitarian and brave stance adopted by the seven countries.”
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.-backed non-governmental organization, said it will start distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza this month after talking to Israeli officials.
But the United Nations ruled out participation in the initiative on Thursday, citing concerns about “equality, neutrality (and) independence.”
