A Hamas attack on an aid crossing that killed Israeli troops was hailed last night as evidence that the terrorist group is using Palestinians as “human shields”, dashing hopes of ending the violence in Gaza.
The escalation came as the latest round of ceasefire talks was “on the brink of collapse”, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flatly ruled out any end to the war.
US President Joe Biden has reportedly suspended a shipment of ammunition bound for Israel amid protests on university campuses against his support for the country.
Ten rockets were fired from near civilian shelters in southern Gaza toward the Kerem Shalom crossing yesterday, killing three soldiers and wounding 11, the Israeli military said.
As a result, it was closed to aid trucks traveling from Israel, just as the head of the UN World Food Program warned of a “full-blown famine” in northern Gaza.
The escalation came as the latest round of ceasefire talks was “on the brink of collapse”, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flatly ruled out any end to the war (file image).
The Israeli military called the attack “a clear example of the terrorist organization’s systematic exploitation of humanitarian facilities and spaces, and its continued use of Gaza’s civilian population as human shields.”
Former hardline Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said: ‘Yes, they are bombing their own livelihood of food and aid. This is another example of Hamas’s perverse strategy: killing its own people to harm Israel.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry added: ‘Hamas fires rockets from civilian centers at humanitarian crossings. This tells you everything you need to know.’
But Hamas sources insisted that the target was an Israeli military base and denied that civilians were used as human shields.
It came as talks between Hamas negotiators and Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo threatened to collapse. Netanyahu said Israel is willing to stop fighting to secure the release of more than 130 hostages believed to be held by Hamas.
But Hamas insists that any ceasefire must be part of ending the ongoing war in Gaza.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that the stalemate meant that new military actions against Rafah – where more than a million displaced Gaza residents have taken refuge – “would begin in the very near future.”
