Israel Intensifies Gaza Strikes as Ceasefire Talks Stall

Israel Intensifies Gaza Strikes as Ceasefire Talks Stall

Israel has launched intensified airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, killing at least 72 Palestinians amid a worsening humanitarian crisis and stalled ceasefire negotiations.

According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, Israeli forces killed at least five people seeking aid near a distribution point in Rafah on Monday. The total number of Palestinians killed near aid sites supported by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has now reached 838.

In southern Gaza, nine people were killed in Khan Younis when Israeli forces struck a displacement camp. In central Gaza’s Bureij refugee camp, four more died in a strike on a commercial center. Dozens were also reported wounded across Gaza City following heavy Israeli bombardment.

Israeli media reported an ambush in Gaza City where a tank was targeted by rockets and small arms fire, leading to the deaths of three Israeli soldiers. The military retaliated with massive airstrikes in the Tuffah and Shujayea neighborhoods, destroying residential buildings, according to Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum.

UN agencies warn that Gaza faces imminent famine and the collapse of its healthcare system due to a critical fuel shortage. Israel has blocked nearly all fuel deliveries since March 2, crippling water desalination and wastewater treatment facilities.

Despite recent promises from Israel and the European Union to boost humanitarian aid, Egypt’s foreign minister confirmed on Monday that no improvements have materialized. “Nothing has changed on the ground,” Badr Abdelatty told reporters ahead of an EU-Middle East summit in Brussels.

Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi described Gaza’s conditions as “catastrophic,” blaming the ongoing Israeli blockade.

Meanwhile, ceasefire negotiations mediated by Qatar continue with little progress. Talks remain deadlocked over the proposed deployment maps for Israeli forces in Gaza. Mediators are exploring new mechanisms to break the impasse, an anonymous official told AFP.

Hamas blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for obstructing the talks. “Netanyahu is skilled at sabotaging one round of negotiations after another,” the group said in a statement on Telegram.

Public pressure on Netanyahu is rising as Israeli military casualties increase. He also faces criticism over a controversial plan to construct a “humanitarian city” in Rafah to house 600,000 Palestinians after a ceasefire. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, condemned the idea, calling it tantamount to building a “concentration camp.”

The situation in Gaza remains dire, with no signs of a breakthrough in either humanitarian relief or peace negotiations.