Sopur4uchi Omwuka, with agency reports
Hamas has reportedly rejected a six-week Israeli cease-fire proposal that required the terrorist group to disarm, saying that surrendering its weapons would never be in negotiation. And the group’s intransigence comes in disregard of worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza where thousands of civilians live in dire conditions due to the raging war.
Israel which was drawn into war with the militant group after a surprise massacre and abduction of its citizens in the notorious October 7 Hamas attack is however intensifying military assault in Gaza to pressure the terrorists into release of remaining living hostages under its custody.
Nearly 55,000 people from both sides have died since the war broke out on October 7, 2023. Whereas peace is not in sight in the region, mediators including the United States and Arab nations are working on fragile ceasefire arrangement that continues to falter.
Hamas which has drawn war catastrophe on the Gazan enclave with the help of Iran rejects the ceasefire plan because the proposal reportedly didn’t offer a commitment for an Israeli troop pull-out or end to combat.
Israeli which resumed attacks on March 18 requires Hamas to release half of the Israeli hostages and disarm. It is currently believed that only 24 of the 59 hostages held in Gaza remain alive.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said current blockage of humanitarian supplies into Gaza is intended to force Hamas to release hostages and extend the previous cease-fire that ended March 1.
The BBC reported Tuesday that Israeli warplanes struck near the gate of the Kuwaiti Field Hospital in al-Mawasi Tuesday, a tented area that holds displaced people in southern Gaza near Khan Younis in southern Gaza. A security guard was reported to have been killed, and nine were injured.
Israel Defense Forces posted to X Tuesday that it killed Muhammad al-‘Ajlah, who the IDF identify as the “commander of a combat support company in the Shejaiya battalion throughout the war.” The IDF allege al-‘Ajlah had armed “the battalion’s terrorists with weapons used to carry out terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops.”
French president Emmanuel Macron posted to social media that he spoke with Netanyahu Tuesday, and that, while he reaffirmed France’s “commitment to the security of Israel and its people, the top priority remains the release of all hostages and the disarmament of Hamas,” he also said that a cease-fire would be the only way to secure the release of any hostages.
He also said, “Opening all crossings that allow the delivery of humanitarian aid is vital for the people of the Gaza Strip. I saw firsthand in Arish the blockade of aid on the other side of the border. It must reach civilians as quickly as possible. The plight of the people of the Gaza Strip must end.”
Meanwhile, anger is still rising in the conflict as Hamas armed wing says it lost contact with group holding Israeli-US hostage Alexander.
Whereas Macron said on Tuesday that the political idea of a two-state solution must be restored; Israel’s Netanyahu responded with a post that said “President Macron is gravely mistaken when he continues to promote the idea of a Palestinian state in the heart of our country, whose sole ambition is the destruction of the State of Israel.”
He added: “We will not jeopardize our existence because of illusions disconnected from reality, and we will not accept moral sermons for the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger the existence of Israel.”
