Israeli airstrikes targeted two urban refugee camps in central Gaza on Saturday, coinciding with the Biden administration’s approval of an emergency weapons sale to Israel. This decision comes despite ongoing international calls for a ceasefire due to the increasing toll on civilians, hunger, and mass displacement in the region. Efforts for even a brief cessation of hostilities appear challenging.
A senior Hamas official, based in Beirut, informed The Associated Press that the group insists on a permanent ceasefire as the initial condition for any further release of Israeli and foreign hostages—a stance conflicting with Egypt’s recent proposal for a phased conclusion to the conflict.
Israel is likely to reject this demand, emphasizing its commitment to continue the extensive air and ground offensive until it achieves the dismantling of Hamas. Some consider this goal challenging due to the deep-rooted presence of the militant group in Palestinian society. The United States has been diplomatically supportive of Israel and has maintained the supply of weapons.
Israel contends that ending the war at this stage would signify a victory for Hamas, a position echoed by the Biden administration. However, the Biden administration also urges Israel to take additional measures to minimize harm to Palestinian civilians.
Since the initiation of the conflict triggered by the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel, over 21,600 Palestinians have lost their lives, with 165 casualties reported in the past 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. The ongoing fighting has led to the displacement of approximately 85 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, prompting a surge of people seeking refuge in areas designated as safe by Israel, despite military bombings. This situation has left Palestinians with a pervasive sense that nowhere in the enclave is safe.
Recent movements of Israeli forces advancing into the southern city of Khan Younis and the central Gaza camps have prompted tens of thousands of Palestinians to migrate to the already congested city of Rafah at the southernmost end of Gaza.
Rafah’s outskirts are now adorned with thousands of tents and makeshift shacks, emerging alongside UN warehouses. Displaced individuals made their way to Rafah either by foot or using trucks and carts laden with piled mattresses. For those unable to secure space in overwhelmed shelters, setting up tents along roadsides became the only option.
In a sprawling tent camp, Nour Daher, a displaced woman, shared the dire conditions, stating, “We are facing a scarcity of water and insufficient food.” She highlighted the challenges, revealing, “The children wake up each morning with the desire to eat and drink. It took us an hour to locate water for them. Bringing flour proved impossible. Even facilitating their access to toilets required an hour-long journey.”
Additional U.S. Armaments Approved for Israel
On Friday, the U.S. State Department announced that Secretary of State Antony Blinken informed Congress of his approval for a $147.5 million sale of equipment, including fuses, charges, and primers, necessary for the 155 mm shells previously acquired by Israel. This marks the second instance this month where the Biden administration has circumvented Congress to greenlight an emergency weapons sale to Israel, citing the “urgency of Israel’s defensive needs” as the rationale for approval. Earlier, on December 9, Blinken made a similar decision to approve the sale of nearly 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition to Israel, valued at over $106 million.
These actions come amidst a stalled congressional debate on President Joe Biden’s request for a nearly $106 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and other national security needs. The delay is attributed to discussions around U.S. immigration policy and border security. Some Democratic lawmakers have proposed tying the proposed $14.3 billion American assistance to Israel with specific measures by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to reduce civilian casualties in Gaza during the conflict with Hamas.
Challenges in Aid Delivery
Over a week after a UN Security Council resolution urged the unimpeded delivery of aid on a large scale to the besieged Gaza Strip, UN agencies have cautioned that conditions have deteriorated further.
Aid officials have reported that the assistance reaching Gaza remains severely insufficient. The distribution of goods faces significant obstacles, including prolonged delays at two border crossings, persistent hostilities, Israeli airstrikes, frequent disruptions in internet and phone services, and a breakdown of law and order that complicates the security of aid convoys.
Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees), emphasized that nearly the entire population relies entirely on external humanitarian aid. According to UN daily reports, a quarter of the population is experiencing starvation due to the inadequate number of trucks delivering food, medicine, fuel, and other essentials—sometimes falling below 100 trucks per day.
UN monitors revealed that operations at the Israeli-managed Kerem Shalom crossing came to a halt for four days this week due to security incidents, such as a drone strike and the confiscation of aid by desperate residents in Gaza.
Although the crossing reopened on Friday, only a total of 81 aid trucks entered Gaza through Kerem Shalom and the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian border. This represents a mere fraction of the typical prewar volume of 500 trucks per day.
Hostage Exchange Dynamics: Complex Negotiations Amidst Gaza Crisis
Gaza’s health ministry reported on Saturday that the Palestinian death toll since the beginning of the war has reached 21,672, with an additional 56,165 people wounded. The ministry does not differentiate between combatants and civilians but has indicated that approximately 70 percent of those killed were women and children.
Meanwhile, Israeli officials have pledged to repatriate over 100 hostages still held in Gaza, following the militants’ seizure of more than 240 individuals in the October 7 assault, which also resulted in the deaths of around 1,200 people, predominantly civilians.
The military announced on Saturday the deaths of two additional soldiers in Gaza, bringing the total number of troops killed since the initiation of the ground offensive to 170.
Mediator Egypt has proposed a multistage plan, commencing with a hostage-for-prisoner swap, accompanied by a temporary ceasefire—similar to an exchange during a weeklong truce in November. In a subsequent phase, discussions would begin on establishing a transitional Palestinian government of experts to govern both Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Israel and Hamas currently maintain significant differences regarding the terms of a ceasefire and future swaps. Hamas’s senior official in Beirut, Osama Hamdan, asserted on Saturday that a complete ceasefire is the initial step, diverging from the Egyptian plan. However, he noted ongoing discussions and mentioned receiving ideas from Qatar, without providing a final response. The resolution of these matters may take time, emphasizing the importance of delving into the details, as the proposed idea could evolve or be abandoned.