Hamas: 'No sense' in truce talks as Israel expands starvation siege on Gaza

A senior Hamas official said there was "no sense" in further ceasefire talks with Israel as Gaza remains under Israeli siege and is bombed daily, as health officials warn that an "imminent disaster" is unfolding.

"There is no sense in engaging in talks or considering new ceasefire proposals as long as the hunger war and extermination war continue in the Gaza Strip," Hamas official, Basem Naim, told reporters.

He added that the international community must "pressure the Netanyahu government to end the cries of hunger, thirst and killings".

The latest comments came just one day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Gaza's 2 million population "will be moved" in a new ground offensive, indicating a plan for the ethnic cleansing of the enclave.

France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot expressed his "strong condemnation" of Israel's plan to seize control of Gaza in comments to a French radio station.

"This is unacceptable," he said, adding that the Israeli government was "violating humanitarian law," and calling for "an urgent ceasefire and unhindered access for humanitarian aid".

Despite Israeli bombing across the Strip killing at least five Palestinians on Tuesday morning, US President Donald Trump’s special Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, reiterated that "many efforts are underway" regarding the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Witkoff said the US is working on "the expansion of the Abraham peace accords" and shed light on the 59 captives held in Gaza.

Hospitals, medical centres to shutter

Meanwhile, the Gaza government media office warned on Monday of "imminent disaster" threatening the lives of thousands of sick and wounded people, as more hospitals and medical centres shuttered due to a lack of fuel following an Israeli siege.

A statement from the office read that Gaza hospitals will all close within 48 hours if fuel is not allowed into the enclave.

Access to fuel depots located in areas designated by Israel as "red zones" will also be completely prohibited.

Israeli security officials have further raised the alarm, warning Netanyahu’s government that an expanded ground offensive will prevent aid from reaching locations where captives are at risk, further putting their lives at risk.

The security officials told ministers that Hamas members holding captives may be forced to flee areas of heavy bombardment, leaving the Israelis behind without food or water, or try to hide their bodies in remote areas, making it difficult for the army to retrieve them.

Expansion of military operations

The growing concerns come after a senior security official suggested on Monday that the expansion of military operations is aimed at pressuring Hamas into agreeing to a new deal.

The "forceful operation" dubbed "Gideon’s Chariots" would only begin after Trump concludes his Middle East visit in mid-May and if a truce deal is not agreed by that time.

The official said the operation would see Palestinians forcibly transferred from their land, and humanitarian aid would only be allowed following the start of the plan.

"[Israeli forces] won't go in and then pull out," the unnamed security official said. "We're not there for that. The goal is the opposite," Netanyahu responded.

On Monday, Israeli cabinet ministers unanimously approved the plan to expand military operations, Israeli media reported.

The plan includes calls for the army to flatten any buildings that remain standing and displace the entire population, Axios stated. An alternative would be for Palestinians to "voluntarily" leave Gaza, despite no other country accepting displaced Palestinians.  

Meanwhile, international aid groups and human rights organisations have continued to shed light on the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Strip.

The UN agency UNRWA added that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza are only eating one meal every two or three days due to the blockade.

UNRWA spokesperson Adnan Abu Hasna said over 66,000 children in Gaza are now suffering from severe malnutrition.

Palestinian fishermen have also been targeted by Israeli bombardment, with two wounded when shelling targeted them in the sea near Beit Lahia, The New Arab’s Arabic language sister publication, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, reported.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed over 61,700 Palestinians since 7 October 2023 and has plunged the Strip into a deep humanitarian crisis. The war has levelled entire neighbourhoods and destroyed the majority of key infrastructure.