Israel demolishes homes, continues to starve Gaza, as ceasefire looks increasingly unlikely

Israeli forces on Friday continued to bombard Gaza, demolishing homes in the Zeitoun neighbourhood, as Palestinian factions gathered in Cairo to push for a ceasefire and the entry of aid.

At least two Palestinians were killed in the Zeitoun area, sources at the al-Ahli Hospital confirmed.

The Palestinian Wafa news agency also reported that three civilians, including a child, were killed after Israeli forces shelled an area west of Rafah City.

This comes after at least 32 people on Thursday were killed by Israeli forces, with 13 of them waiting to get emergency aid.

Around 300 to 350 homes have been levelled in a matter of days in the northeast of Gaza City, as Israel advances its plan to expand the occupation.

Over 100 rights groups accused Israel of continuing to obstruct vital aid from entering the besieged enclave, adding that the amount of aid trickling into the Strip is not enough to end starvation and noting that tonnes of supplies continue to be stranded in warehouses as Israel blocks aid.

Life-saving aid obstructed amid plans to occupy Gaza

The UN has also raised the alarm over the situation in Gaza, saying that around 13,000 children have been admitted to treatment centres in the devastated enclave after suffering from acute malnutrition.

The UN agency OCHA also said cases where people have to be hospitalised for malnutrition are becoming increasingly challenging, noting that the 129 cases with complications needed hospitalisation last month.

The sharp increase in malnutrition cases comes while only five sites across the entirety of the Gaza Strip are equipped to deal with malnutrition.

The latest developments come as the prospect of a ceasefire deal being agreed becomes more unlikely, with opposition growing in Israel over pursuing another partial captive deal.

Director of the Mossad, David Barnea, visited Doha on Thursday to meet with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, with Israeli officials saying the visit was to attempt to revive truce talks.

Another Israeli official told the Reuters news agency that the visit was instead regarding "matters related to the Mossad, not regarding the negotiations for a hostage deal".

"Still, the head of Mossad clarified in the meeting that a partial deal is off the table," the official added.

Reports in Israel’s Channel12 said that Barnea told al-Thani during their meeting that Israel was serious with its plan to occupy all of Gaza and will continue with this unless there is progress with captive talks.

On the same day, at least seven Palestinian factions gathered in Cairo, where they emphasised that they have so far responded positively to all of the truce proposals put forward.

In a joint statement, the factions raised concerns over Israel’s plans to occupy Gaza, urging for nations to exert all efforts in halting this immediately.

Egypt is still trying to mediate talks, with reports stating that a Hamas delegation in Cairo this week presented Egypt with its demands for a new ceasefire proposal, including guarantees that Israel would halt any plans to occupy Gaza.

Condemnation of Netanyahu's 'Greater Israel' comments

Meanwhile, the Muslim World League (MWL) issued a string condemnation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his comments this week advocating a "vision of Greater Israel".

In a statement, the general secretariat of the organisation aid the comments reflect "blatant violations by an extremist government which, through its actions and disregard for international and humanitarian laws and norms, poses a serious a dangerous threat to the region and international community…"

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 61,776  Palestinians since October 2023, and plunged the Strip into a deep humanitarian crisis. Over 154,906 Palestinians have been wounded since the start of the war, which has been determined to be a genocide by leading rights groups, including Amnesty International.