Mass deaths and stalemate with Israel carry a truce in Gaza to collapse

The Gaza Strip returned to live one of the bloodyiest days of war on Saturday (13), with 139 dead Palestinians and 425 injured in Israeli attacks, according to the Local Health Ministry. The Israeli Air Force performed 150 bombings in 24 hours, as well as land operations with tanks in Beit Hanoun (North) and Khan Youis (south).

The climbing happens amid the collapse of negotiations by a 60-day ceasefire. While Palestinian and Israeli delegations remain in Doha, mediated by Qatar and the United States, the army of Israel expands its presence in the territory and advances in densely populated regions, aggravating the humanitarian catastrophe that has left more than 57,880 dead and 138,000 injured since October 2023.

The most serious situation was recorded in Rafah, where 17 people were murdered in a new episode of firing civilians in line for food. Witnesses told Reuters that the shots were directed to the head and chest.

“We were sitting and suddenly they started shooting. For five minutes we were in fire. A man beside me was hit straight into the heart,” said Mahmoud Makram, the survival of the attack.

The shooting in Rafah is part of a series of similar episodes in the last six weeks, which have left at least 800 dead.

Since late May, Israel has implemented a new model of food distribution under armed surveillance, in partnership with the Humanitarian Foundation Gaza (GHF), an organization supported by the United States.

The UN rejects the system, claiming that it violates the principles of neutrality and puts the population at direct risk.

According to the Middle East EyeIsraeli soldiers and private military hired (mercenaries) would be shooting civilians at the distribution points. Two sources of the UG Solutions company, which operates with GHF, confirmed to the Associated Press that there were orders to open fire.

The Haaretz newspaper also published testimonials from Israeli soldiers reporting that they were instructed to shoot unarmed people looking for food.

Palestinian negotiators heard by the portal state that accepting GHF’s presence in the proposed terms would be equivalent to legitimizing the ongoing murders.

“This mechanism has no legitimacy. To accept this, we would have to accept the deaths in the food lines,” said one of the sources involved in the conversations.

Israel proposes to maintain occupation in Rafah and build “humanitarian city”

The impasse in negotiations deepens the Israeli proposal to maintain about 40% of the Gaza Strip under military control during the truce – including the entire southern region of Rafah, as well as areas in the north and east of the territory.

The plan, according to Palestinian sources, makes the return of thousands of displaced families unfeasible.

The permanence of the troops would also allow the execution of the plan announced by the Minister of Defense of Israel, Israel Katz, to build a “humanitarian city” about Rafah’s ruins.

The project foresees the transfer of up to 600,000 people to tent fields, with possible later expulsion out of Gaza. Palestinian negotiators classify the plan as a modern concentration camp disguised as help.

“The goal is to push the population out of Gaza, creating militarily controlled areas where people lose the right to return,” says a source close to Doha’s negotiations.

Contradictory requirements block agreement: “It’s not peace, it’s surrender”

The collapse of negotiation also reflects irreconcilable demands between the parties. Israel insists that the end of the war will only occur after the release of all hostages and the total dismantling of Hamas – both military and politically. Palestinian negotiators argue that the 60-day ceasefire is the starting point for a definitive truce.

According to them, accepting the current Israeli proposal would be equivalent to authorizing a complete ethnic cleaning. “If we accept demilitarization, we will allow Israel to expel the entire population of Gaza,” said one of the sources.

The Palestinian delegation claims to have entered the negotiations with the willingness to release 10 living hostages, but considers that the Netanyahu government deliberately acts to sabotage the agreement.

For experts heard by the international press, diplomatic block reflects an Israeli strategy to use the suffering of the population as a pressure instrument. Instead of a truce, Palestinian civilians continue to die mass, either under bombs or when looking for food.