11 Dead in Gaza Strikes as Famine Deaths Soar – Will Israel Ever Agree to Ceasefire?

At least 11 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza on Thursday, including five who had been searching for aid, medical sources told Al Jazeera. The strikes targeted the Jabalia an-Nazla area in northern Gaza.

On the same day, Israel carried out a wave of arrests in the occupied West Bank, detaining 12 people. Those arrested included journalists, reform activists, and former prisoners. The raids were described as intense, with soldiers breaking into homes during the operations.

Israel Blamed for Deaths Due to Starvation in Gaza

Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that four more people, including two children, died in the past 24 hours from famine and malnutrition. This raises the overall hunger-related death toll in Gaza to 317, of which 121 were children.

Meanwhile, destruction continues in Gaza City. Gaza’s Civil Defence said that in the Zeitoun neighborhood alone, over 1,500 homes have been destroyed since the Israeli ground assault began earlier this month, leaving no buildings standing in the area.

At the United Nations, every member of the Security Council except the United States supported a declaration by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) that famine in Gaza is a “man-made crisis.” Israel and the US rejected the findings.

Donald Trump Presides Over a Meeting to Discuss Peace in Gaza

U.S. President Donald Trump also chaired a policy meeting at the White House to discuss Israel’s war in Gaza and possible post-war scenarios. The meeting included former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Trump’s ex-Middle East envoy Jared Kushner.

On the ground, hunger has taken a devastating toll on Gaza’s elderly. In nursing homes, caregivers say they have little food to give, leaving some elderly patients so weak they can barely move.

Since the war began, Israeli attacks have killed at least 62,895 people and wounded 158,927 in Gaza, according to Al Jazeera. In Israel, 1,139 people were killed during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, and more than 200 were taken captive.

Qatar Seeks Immediate End to Gaza War

Efforts toward a ceasefire have stalled. Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said Israel has not responded to a proposal agreed to by Hamas earlier this month. The plan called for a 60-day halt to Israeli military operations, withdrawal of troops, the entry of humanitarian aid, and the exchange of half of the remaining 50 captives for Palestinian detainees.

The proposal has been waiting for more than 10 days without an Israeli reply. Instead, Qatar said, Israel’s actions have only brought “more deaths, more destruction, and more plans to seize territory in Gaza, but no real step toward peace.”

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