Hopes dim for Gaza truce before Ramadan as war enters sixth month

GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories — Hopes dimmed on Thursday for a truce before Ramadan in the Israel-Hamas war that entered its sixth month with dozens more killed in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

The ministry said 83 more people had been killed over the previous day, adding to a toll it says has reached 30,800, mostly women and children, in a war that China called "a disgrace to civilisation".

In the wasteland of Jabalia, northern Gaza, Palestinians gathered to receive meals at a distribution point.

"There is no gas to cook our food on. There is no flour or rice," said Bassam Al Hou, standing beside large, blackened cooking pots among the dusty rubble.

He said children "are dying and fainting in the streets from hunger. What can we do?"

In Deir Al Balah in central Gaza, the bodies of about 14 people lay in front of a hospital. The bare feet of some protruded from under coloured cloths that covered them.

US President Joe Biden had urged Hamas to accept a ceasefire plan with Israel before the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan begins, as early as Sunday depending on the lunar calendar.

The proposed deal would pause fighting for "at least six weeks", see the "release of sick, wounded, elderly and women hostages" and allow for "a surge of humanitarian assistance", the White House said.

Gaps 'being narrowed' 

But on Thursday, Hamas's delegation voiced dissatisfaction with Israeli responses so far and left Cairo for consultations with the movement's leadership in Qatar.

Egypt's Al Qahera News channel said the talks will now resume "next week".

US ambassador to Israel Jack Lew denied the talks had "broken down".

"The differences are being narrowed. It's not yet an agreement. Everyone's looking towards Ramadan, which is coming close. I can't tell you that it will be successful, but it is not yet the case that it is broken down," Lew said.

Israeli war cabinet member Gadi Eisenkot said Hamas was under "very serious pressure" from mediators to make a "counter offer".

“Then it will be possible to advance it and take a position,” he said.

As talks drag on, the United Nations has warned repeatedly that famine looms for Palestinians struggling to survive in the territory.

“It is a tragedy for humankind and a disgrace for civilisation that today, in the 21st century, this humanitarian disaster cannot be stopped,” said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

By late January the war had damaged around half of all buildings in Gaza and rendered the territory “uninhabitable” for its 2.4 million people, a UN agency said, warning the impact would only worsen if the war continued.

The health ministry on Wednesday said 20 people had died of malnutrition and dehydration, at least half of them children.

Only limited aid has reached Gaza’s north.

The UN’s food agency on Thursday said it was pressing Israel to allow it to use the Ashdod Port north of Gaza to make it easier to reach starving Palestinians.

“We have several requests with the Israelis,” World Food Programme (WFP) Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau told AFP in Rome, after its latest failed attempt to get food to northern Gaza.

“We want to use the Ashdod Port, which would be much more efficient than going through Jordan or even Egypt,” Skau said.

Since the start of the war between Hamas and Israel, Gaza has been plunged into a food crisis, with outside aid severely restricted.

The UN estimates that 2.2 million people — most of Gaza’s population — are on the brink of famine, particularly in the north.

“There is catastrophic hunger situation. People are desperate and the tensions are high. And there is a complete breakdown also of civil order,” Skau said.