The ceasefire in the Gaza Strip is perilously close to collapsing as both Israel and Hamas have both balked at entering negotiations over terms of an intended second phase of the deal. Meanwhile, food shortages in the territory have become acute and Palestinians living there are again struggling to feed their families.
The ceasefire that began in mid-January brought a pause in Israel’s campaign of bombardment and ground offensives in Gaza aimed at destroying Hamas after its oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel. The ceasefire’s first phase saw the release of 25 Israeli hostages held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza and the bodies of eight others in exchange for the freeing of nearly 2,000 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.
Abdul Hakim Abu Riash/Anadolu via Getty Images
But the intended second phase of the deal – meant to bring the release of the remaining hostages and a lasting truce and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza – has been thrown into doubt. Israel has called for Hamas to release half its remaining hostages in return for an extension of the ceasefire and a promise to negotiate a lasting truce.
Since March 2, Israel has barred all food, fuel, medicine and other supplies from entering Gaza for some 2 million people, demanding Hamas accept the revised deal.
Now, Palestinians in the territory are scrambling for any food they can find.
Mustafa Abu Shaaban, a blacksmith before the war, and his wife Rasha, try to create a semblance of normality for their kids.
“Our life is hard – we just want to live like everyone else,” Rasha told CBS News.
But as the aid freeze starts to bite in the holy month of Ramadan, the pair have no idea they will feed their four children.
“All our roads are just ruins,” Mustafa says as he walks to the market. “Wherever I turn, it is just ruins.”
Prices have soared and severe shortages of milk, eggs, meat and cooking gas have been reported in Gaza.
“We ask the world to help us to stop the war,” Mustafa said. “We have had enough suffering.”
Doaa Albaz/Anadolu via Getty Images
Under the ceasefire, Israeli forces have pulled back to a zone along Gaza’s edges. Early Saturday, an Israeli strike killed two Palestinians in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. The Israeli military said it struck several men who appeared to have been flying a drone that entered Israel from Gaza.
Israel’s military offensive has killed over 48,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were militants.
The campaign was triggered by Hamas’ October 2023 terrorist attack, in which militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, inside Israel and took a total of 251 people hostage. Most have been released in ceasefire agreements or other arrangements. Hamas is believed to still have 24 living hostages and the bodies of 34 others.
Mr. Trump issued what he called a “last warning” to Hamas on Wednesday to release all hostages still held in Gaza, directing a sharply worded message after the White House confirmed that he had recently dispatched an envoy for unprecedented direct talks with the group.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to “open the gates of hell” if Hamas doesn’t return all its hostages.
Muslim nations reject Trump’s call to empty Gaza Strip of Palestinians
Foreign ministers from Muslim nations on Saturday rejected calls by President Trump to empty the Gaza Strip of its Palestinian population. They backed a plan for an administrative committee of Palestinians to govern the territory to allow reconstruction to go ahead.
The foreign ministers gathered in the Saudi city of Jeddah for a special session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to address the situation in Gaza.
Jehad Alshrafi / AP
In a statement put out Saturday, the gathering threw its support behind a plan to rebuild Gaza put forward by Egypt and backed by Arab states, including Saudi Arabia and Jordan, aimed at countering Mr. Trump’s call. The OIC groups 57 nations with largely Muslim populations.
Without specifically mentioning Mr. Trump, the ministers said they rejected “plans aimed at displacing the Palestinian people individually or collectively … as ethnic cleansing, a grave violation of international law and a crime against humanity.” They also condemned “policies of starvation” that they said aim to push Palestinians to leave.
The OIC also reinstated Syria as a member of the grouping.
contributed to this report.
