According to Hamas, more than 30,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the Israeli offensive.

“The number of martyrs (you are) There are over 30,000 »The Ministry of Health of the Gaza Strip, the Hamas-run territory, announced in a press release published on the morning of Thursday, February 29, at least 79 new deaths in Israeli strikes overnight.

The war transformed the Palestinian territory “Death Zone”, According to World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. On a daily basis, civilians pay the highest price in fighting and bombing that has spared no area, devastated entire neighborhoods and forced 1.7 million Palestinians of the enclave’s 2.4 million residents to flee their homes.

On the Israeli side, the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack killed at least 1,160 people, most of them civilians, according to a count by Agence France-Presse based on official data. After conducting a bombing campaign by land, sea, and air, the Israeli military launched a ground offensive in the north of the region on October 27, 2023, while advancing south. Since then it has lost 242 soldiers.

“Drought is behaving”, UNRWA worries

In the region besieged by Israel since October 9, 2.2 million people, the majority of the population, are at risk of famine, according to the United Nations (UN), especially in the north of the country, where destruction, fighting and looting make the delivery of aid almost impossible.

The UN also condemned the barriers imposed by Israel, which restrict the entry of aid from Egypt. According to the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), there are humanitarian needs “unlimited”. “Famine is coming. Hospitals have turned into battlegrounds. A million children face daily trauma »she emphasized.

Hamas’ health ministry says seven children have died “Dehydration and Malnutrition” Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and seven other Kamal Adwan Hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip as well.

The international community is also worried about the upcoming Israeli ground offensive on Rafah, where about 1.5 million Palestinians are concentrated, according to the UN, most of them displaced, trapped against the closed border with Egypt. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he wants to defeat Hamas “The Last Bastion”. He claimed that there would be a ceasefire “delay” Such an offensive, while ensuring that civilians are evacuated from the combat zone.

The target of daily Israeli bombardment, Rafah, which had 270,000 inhabitants before the war, is the main entry point for aid into Gaza, which arrives in very limited quantities. The United States Agency for International Development says it is discussing the opening “Many More Crossing Points”. “It’s a question of life or death”Its administrator, Samantha Power, said on Social Network X.

Negotiations for a ceasefire during Ramadan

Faced with this devastating war, Qatar, the United States and Egypt are trying to reach a ceasefire agreement covering a six-week pause in fighting. US President Joe Biden spoke on Monday “An agreement by the Israelis that they will not engage in operations during Ramadan” According to “Bring out all the hostages”. “I hope we will have a ceasefire by next Monday”He said, insisting that it was not “not done yet”.

About 150 Israelis began a four-day march from Rim in southern Israel to Jerusalem, demanding an agreement from their government to release the hostages.

On the diplomatic front, representatives of Palestinian groups, including the rival movements of Hamas and Fatah, are in Moscow this Thursday for talks with the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov. On Thursday, New Zealand, one of the last Western countries not to do so, announced it would now designate one. “The Totality of Hamas”That means including the political branch “terrorist organization”.