(Reuters) – Israel’s military pushed deeper towards the most populated areas of Gaza City on Tuesday, a painful reminder for Gazans that Western powers’ recognition of a Palestinian state does not mean an end to the horrors of war as tanks approach.
Israel pressed on with its Gaza offensive a day after dozens of world leaders gathered at the United Nations to embrace a Palestinian state, a landmark diplomatic shift after nearly two years of war that faces resistance from Israel and its close ally the United States.
Local health authorities said Israeli fire on Tuesday killed at least 22 people across the Gaza Strip, 18 of them in Gaza City, and the Gaza health ministry said hospitals in the enclave would run out of fuel in the coming few days, endangering lives.
EXPLOSIONS DESTROY HOMES AND ROADS IN GAZA
“We are not steadfast, we are helpless. We don’t have money to leave to the south and we don’t have guarantees if we do the Israelis will not bomb us, so we are staying,” Huda, a mother of two from Gaza City, told Reuters via a chat app.
“The children tremble all the time from the sounds of explosions, we do too, they are wiping out a city that is thousands of years old and the world is celebrating a symbolic recognition of a state that won’t stop our killing.”
Israeli forces detonated explosive-laden vehicles in the suburbs of Sabra and Tel Al-Hawa as tanks made a big push towards the western side of Gaza City. Residents said the explosions destroyed dozens of homes and roads.
Three hospitals were taken out of operation on Monday as Israeli forces advanced, further weakening the health system and depriving residents of medical care, local authorities said.
President Emmanuel Macron announced that France recognised Palestinian statehood at a meeting he convened with Saudi Arabia on Monday – a milestone that appeared unlikely to change much on the ground. Israel has said such moves will undermine prospects for a peaceful end to the conflict.
TWO-STATE SOLUTION
The two-state solution was the bedrock of the U.S.-backed peace process ushered in by the 1993 Oslo Accords, but the process has all but died
The Israeli government has declared there will be no Palestinian state as it fights the militant group Hamas in Gaza following the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people.
Israel has drawn global condemnation over its military conduct in Gaza, where more than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to local health authorities.
Despite this, Israel has begun a ground assault on Gaza City with few prospects for a ceasefire, and wants Hamas to hand over the last hostages it seized in the 2023 attack on Israel.
Gaza City is the capital of the Gaza Strip and used to house Hamas’ most powerful battalions before the war.
“Are we now being killed as the citizens of the state of Palestine? Is that what happened?” said Abu Mustafa, hours after he fled his Gaza City home because Israeli tanks were close.
“Those countries who suddenly remembered Palestine was occupied forgot that Gaza is being wiped out. We want the war to end, we want our slaughter to end, that’s what we need now, not declarations.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed the criticism of the military campaign and said the war will not stop until Hamas is eliminated. But he has not produced a plan for Gaza, much of which has been reduced to rubble, after the war ends.
TRUMP TO ADDRESS U.N. GENERAL ASSEMBLY
U.S. President Donald Trump will meet leaders and officials from multiple Muslim-majority countries on Tuesday and discuss the situation in Gaza, which faces a humanitarian crisis including widespread hunger.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday Trump would hold a multilateral meeting with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan.
Axios said Trump would present the group with a proposal for peace and post-war governance in Gaza.
Washington wants Arab and Muslim countries to agree to send military forces to Gaza to enable Israel’s withdrawal and to secure funding for transition and rebuilding programmes, Axios reported.
In February, Trump proposed a U.S. takeover of Gaza and a permanent displacement of Palestinians from there. It was labelled as an “ethnic cleansing” proposal by rights experts and the U.N. Forcible displacement is illegal under international law. He will address the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday.
Mohammed Al-Bayari, a 36-year-old father of six, had little time to think about global diplomacy as he and his children pulled a cart with their meagre belongings uphill in Gaza during a 14-hour search for somewhere safe for the family.
“Every 10 to 15 minutes I need to rest for half an hour,” he said.
