US’ 3-Point Fix To Israel-Hamas Conflict; Deepening Close-Quarters Combat In Gaza
Israel’s military offensive against Hamas, the Islamist group that administers the coastal Palestinian enclave of Gaza, following the surprise attack on October 7, has been intensified over the weekend as the troops ventured into ‘second phase’ of retaliation with ground incursion across the Gaza border.
On Tuesday, the Israel Defence Force (IDF) said it has killed a key Hamas operative who oversaw the October 7 attack in a series of airstrikes in Gaza’s main city which also flattened several buildings at a refugee camp killing at least 50 Palestinians. Moreover, Israeli troops are largely engaging in closed-quarters combat with Hamas as they push further into Gaza.
The US has been discussing a three-point solution to the conflict in the Palestinian enclave that would prove beneficial to end the war, bring a solution to the call for a sovereign Palestinian state.
Several Middle-Eastern countries including UAE, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have condemned the Israeli attack at the refugee camp saying it will ‘result in irreparable ramifications in the region’.
UN and other aid officials said civilians in the besieged Palestinian enclave were engulfed by a public health catastrophe, with hospitals struggling to treat casualties as electricity supplies petered out. Ashraf Al-Qidra, spokesperson for the health ministry in Gaza said power generators in al Shifa Medical complex and the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza will stop in hours.
Israeli families of victims of the October 7 attack appealed to the International Criminal Court on Tuesday to order an investigation into the killings and abductions. Israel is not a member of the Hague-based court and refuses to recognise its jurisdiction.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels for the first time Tuesday claimed missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, drawing their main sponsor Iran closer into the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and further raising the risks of a regional conflict erupting.
The United States has made “real progress” in the last few hours in negotiations to secure a safe passage for Americans and other foreign nationals who wish to leave Gaza, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
Temporary oversight to Gaza to countries from the region, backed by troops from the US, UK, Germany and France; a peacekeeping force modeled on the Multinational Force and Observers group that operates on and around the Sinai peninsula; and a temporary governance of the strip under a United Nations umbrella are the three-pronged solutions the US is mulling to bring in place, according to Bloomberg report.
South American nations have reacted to the intensifying humanitarian crisis amid the war and called for an immediate halt to the military action. Bolivia has decided to sever diplomatic ties with Israel, whereas, its neighbours Colombia and Chile recalled their ambassadors to the Middle Eastern country for consultations.
After reports of partial-reinstatement of the internet and communications services, the Palestinian telecom company Paltel said on Wednesday in a post on messaging platform X that communications and internet services have been completely cut off in the Gaza Strip due to international access being disconnected again.