Palestinian minister: Cease-fire more important than having food under fire
The caretaker Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila said that “the cease-fire is much more important than having food under fire” as international mediators are trying to broker a 6-week cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.
“The top priority is to have a cease-fire,” she said from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. “People are running from one place to another just to save their lives. People all over the world should mobilize to push for a cease-fire.”
“The second call is, stop providing Israel with weapons. Third, make Israel accountable in front of the international law,” Al-Kaila added. A Hamas delegation arrived in Egypt’s capital on Sunday for talks on the cease-fire after indications that Israel has provisionally accepted a six-week pause in fighting before the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Qatari and US mediators also arrived in Cairo on Sunday. A Hamas official said if Israel were to meet its demands – which include a complete military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and stepped-up humanitarian aid – this would “pave the way for an agreement within the next 24-48 hours”.
Another unnamed Palestinian official told Reuters, however, that a cease-fire deal was still not imminent, saying: “We’re not there yet.”
A US official said on Saturday that Israel had “more or less accepted” a deal presented by mediators.
Increasing the flow of aid is crucial. The local health ministry said on Sunday that 15 children had died from malnutrition and dehydration at Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya, and the UN has said about a quarter of the total population is “one step away from famine”.
Hamas has indicated its negotiating position could be influenced by the deaths of 115 Palestinians in Gaza who were killed after Israeli troops opened fire near a crowd of people scrambling to get food from an aid convoy on Thursday.
Since October, Israel’s strikes on the Gaza Strip have claimed the lives of more than 30,410 Palestinians – mostly women and children.