US President Donald Trump said a ceasefire in the Gaza war could be reached next week.
“I think it’s close,” Trump told reporters at the White House, adding that he had just spoken to some of the parties involved.
“We think we will have a ceasefire within the next week,” he said.
He did not provide further details, leaving it unclear what lies behind his optimistic statement.
Mediators in Qatar and Egypt have long been working to broker a new ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist militia Hamas.
As part of such an agreement, the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza are expected to be released, and many Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails will be released.
The European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness, and Crisis Management on Monday warned of the devastating consequences of Israel’s bombing of the Gaza Strip since October 2023, calling for “decisive political action” to alleviate people’s suffering.
“Life is being erased in Gaza,” said Hadja Lahbib to reporters ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels.
She stated that “words are insufficient to describe the situation in Gaza today.”
“The very essence of humanitarian aid is being stripped away – meaning that vital services such as clean water, access to sanitation, and healthcare are on the brink of collapse,” Lahbib emphasized.
She stressed that aid is not reaching the residents of Gaza, “especially” after United Nations (UN) agencies were replaced by Israel and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) supported by the United States (U.S.).
Lahbib believes that “privatization is simply unacceptable.”
“The international humanitarian system is built on clear principles: neutrality, humanity, impartiality, and independence. The GHF does not adhere to these principles,” she said.
Lahbib stated that humanitarian aid “must never” be “militarized” or “politicized,” adding: “Using humanitarian aid as a weapon of war is a violation of international humanitarian law.”
On March 2nd, Israel imposed a total blockade on humanitarian supplies entering Gaza. Since the end of May, aid distribution has been controlled by the GHF, a U.S. humanitarian group that is an extended arm of the Israeli military.
At least 43 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since dawn, medical sources said, while the death toll in the Gaza war exceeds 56.000. Among those killed were 13 people who were trying to reach humanitarian aid.
According to reports, at least 20 people were killed while trying to get food for their families at aid distribution points run by the controversial GHF, supported by the U.S. and Israel, which has already been condemned by the UN for the “armed instrumentalization of aid.”
Human rights organizations strongly criticize these points, calling them “human slaughterhouses,” as hungry Palestinians risk their lives daily trying to obtain basic food supplies. Since the start of aid distribution on May 27th, Israeli forces have killed more than 400 people and wounded around 1.000 near aid centers.
A journalist in Gaza, Hani Mahmoud, reports that the Israeli army continues with devastating air strikes on tents and residential buildings throughout the Gaza Strip, while simultaneously engaged in conflict with Iran.
“Hungry citizens are gathering in Rafah and along the Netzarim corridor. Today, 13 people seeking aid were killed. That is part of the total of 30 people killed since this morning,” Mahmoud said yesterday.
It was reported that at least four more people were killed in an Israeli air strike on a residential building in Jabalia, in northern Gaza. Three brothers were killed while inspecting the rubble of their home in the al-Salateen area of Beit Lahia.
In central Gaza, the al-Awda hospital in the Nuseirat refugee camp received the bodies of two people and treated 35 wounded in an attack on people gathered along Salah al-Din Street. Sixteen of the wounded were transferred to other hospitals due to serious injuries.
Israeli artillery continued shelling the Shujayea neighborhood in the eastern part of Gaza.
