The Palestinian government has indicated that it is not open to a post-war plan for Gaza outlined by Israel’s Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, that would turn governance of Gaza over to unnamed “Palestinian bodies” while granting Israel security control.
In a statement cited by the Palestinian news agency, the presidency said that it is committed to seeing an end to Israel’s occupation and to a future Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, under the framework of the Arab Peace Initiative.
It “unequivocally [rejects] any plans that go beyond these parameters”, it said.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates stated that the humanitarian crisis in Rafah is testing the remaining credibility of the international community, the United Nations Security Council and all relevant international institutions .
“For the 91st consecutive day, the Israeli government continues its deepening campaign of genocide, comprehensive destruction, and displacement in the Gaza Strip,” the ministry said in a statement.
The statement went on to say that Gaza’s population of more than two million faces two options: Death by bombing, starvation, thirst and deprivation of medical treatment or continued displacement, resulting in more than a million people crammed into Rafah, which now has the highest population density in the world.
The UN’s Palestinian refugee agency disclosed that 1.9 million people, almost 90 percent of the Gaza Strip’s population, have been displaced over the course of three months.
Mass displacement is continuing, with many families forced to move repeatedly as Israeli army bombardments touch all areas of the territory.
Also, the World Health Organization announced that since October 7, hospitals and other vital medical infrastructure have been attacked nearly 600 times in the Gaza Strip.
The attacks have affected 94 healthcare sites, including 26 hospitals damaged out of a total of 36 in the enclave.
At least 613 people were killed inside the facilities, and more than 770 others have been injured.
WHO Spokesperson, Christian Lindmeier condemned the continuing bombardment and said that the “ongoing reduction of humanitarian space plus the continuing attacks on healthcare are pushing the people of Gaza to breaking point.”
Moreover, Peace Now, an Israeli NGO that monitors settlement activities in the occupied West Bank, disclosed that over the past three months, there has been an “unmatched surge” in the construction of outposts, roads, fences and roadblocks by settlers.
“Settlers persist in seizing control of Area C in the West Bank, further marginalising the Palestinian presence,” a press release said.
There has been a record number of nine new outposts in a span of about three months, and 18 illegal settler-only roads.
According to the NGO, widespread phenomenon of roadblocks prevent Palestinians from accessing main roads in the occupied West Bank.
U.S Offers $10m For Hamas’ Financial Information
In other developments, the State Department announced that the United States is offering up to $10m for information on five Hamas financiers or anything leading to the disruption of the group’s financial mechanisms.
The five are Abdelbasit Hamza Elhassan Khair, Amer Kamal Sharif Alshawa, Ahmed Sadu Jahleb, Walid Mohammed Mustafa Jadallah, and Muhammad Ahmad ‘Abd Al-Dayim Nasrallah.
They have all been previously designated global “terrorists” by the U.S, the department said in a statement.
The first financier, known as Hamza, is based in Sudan, has managed numerous companies in Hamas’s investment portfolio and was involved in the transfer of almost $20m to Hamas, the department said.
The department added that three of the Hamas operatives mentioned; Amer Kamal Sharif Alshawa, Ahmed Sadu Jahleb, and Walid Mohammed Mustafa Jadallah, are part of the group’s investment network in Turkey.
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