One official said negotiators did not believe Hamas or Israel would leave the negotiations permanently. And a senior Egyptian official told state television that mediation efforts were still underway to bridge differences between Israel and Hamas.
Hamas seeks an end to the war and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops, while Israel offers a temporary ceasefire. Netanyahu has said Israel will not stop fighting until Hamas is eliminated and all hostages are freed.
Israel’s incursion into Rafah this week has displaced some 80,000 people there, most of whom are now sheltered in the southern city of Khan Younis or along the Mediterranean coast in Deir al Balah, both areas that lack basic services. said Farhan Haq, a spokesman for the United Nations. he said Thursday.
The Israeli military had ordered some 110,000 civilians to evacuate parts of Rafah, which has become a refuge for hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians, many of them living in tents without adequate food, water or sanitation.
Riyad al-Masry, a sign language interpreter, said Thursday that he and his family had left Rafah even though they had already moved five times since the war began. The prospect of a sixth move was “torture beyond torture,” he said, but he claimed that the close clashes left him no choice.
“We are almost in the middle of danger,” al-Masry said.
Haq said goods and fuel had not entered through the Rafah crossing in recent days and hospitals may have to turn off their generators in a few days. He said the World Food Program had reported that its main warehouse in Gaza was inaccessible due to fighting and that only one bakery in Gaza was still operating.
Jens Laerke, spokesman for the U.N. humanitarian office in Geneva, described Rafah as a “highly active war zone” and said it presented “serious challenges” to aid distribution in southern Gaza and further north in the territory. .
“We reiterate that the parties’ obligation to facilitate aid does not end at the border or in a delivery zone,” he said. “Aid must reach those who need it safely.”
The report was contributed by Matthew Mpoke Bigg, Iyad Abuheweila, Myra Noveck, Aaron Boxerman, Vivian Yee, Erica L. Green and Farnaz Fassihi.