While Hamas and Israel honored the agreement on the sixth day of the ceasefire and continued the exchange of hostages for prisoners, their representatives and mediators in Qatar finalized the extension of the period without war. At the same time, the echoes from the liberated people and from those responsible for providing aid to the Gaza Strip became louder: complaints, lamentations and calls to action.
Five minors and five women were released on Wednesday evening – in addition to four Thais and two Russian-Israelis – as the announcement of the ceasefire extension was expected, but Hamas said it was dissatisfied with the proposals on the table. Earlier, Hamas leader Bassem Naim said in Cape Town that they were willing to exchange all hostages – including military personnel – for all prisoners, about ten thousand.
The entry of trucks into Gaza carrying humanitarian aid remains insufficient: an average of 150 vehicles per day, while the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) estimates that 200 trucks per day would be needed for two months to respond to the refugee challenge . population with basic needs of more than two million people. On Tuesday, the UN children’s agency (UNICEF) said the flow of aid “is not even enough to triage”, referring to the process of selecting resources for the most urgent cases by humanitarian organizations and hospitals.
“Much, much more is needed to respond to human needs in Gaza,” the UN Secretary-General said.
On Wednesday, during a meeting of the Security Council, the UN Secretary General did not let this issue go unnoticed: “The people of Gaza are in the midst of an epic human catastrophe before the eyes of the world. We must not distract the gaze. Much more is needed to respond to human needs in Gaza,” said António Guterres, who defended the opening of the Kerem Shalom border between Israel and the enclave, and an acceleration of the inspection of heavy vehicles.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, the chief surgeon of al-Shifa in Gaza City, Marwan Abu Sada, said that nothing reached the hospital despite the ceasefire. “Since the ceasefire, nothing has reached the hospital. I think most of the medical aid goes to the hospitals in the south, nothing reaches the northern areas, only food, water and other things,” he stated, after also informing that the The greatest need is the fuel that is used for electric generators. However, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus warned that only three of 25 hospitals in northern Gaza are operational.
Israeli authorities have asked released prisoners not to celebrate the end of their captivity; and the former hostages and family members were told not to reveal details of their captivity so as not to endanger the remaining kidnapped people. However, some celebrated and revealed the circumstances they were going through.
Among the first released Palestinians, some were afraid to speak out, fearing that they or their relatives would suffer reprisals and be detained. Some, both men and women, complained of mistreatment and mistreatment in prison. In addition, they claim that water, food and medical care have been limited since the war began, and visits by family and lawyers have been limited or suspended.
The agreement between Hamas and Israel laid bare the conditions to which Palestinians in the occupied territories are subjected: of the list of 300 people that Tel Aviv agreed to release, 233 were not charged with any crime. Administratively, they are held for a maximum of six months, but in practice they can remain in this situation for years. When prisoners are accused, they are brought before military courts.
As for the hostages, the conditions of captivity also left much to be desired, although there are no references to physical abuse, apart from the violence of the situation. According to testimonies collected by the media from health workers and relatives, the hostages were not fed enough, causing them to lose at least 10% of their weight. They were kept underground and given two hours of light a day. Those who were accompanied were distracted by chatting, while others spent days alone.
According to Etan’s grandmother, a 12-year-old French-Israeli who was released on Monday, her grandson spent 16 days in isolation. Emily Hand, a nine-year-old Irish-Israeli released on Saturday, is also afraid of making noise. “They must have told him to keep quiet the whole time and he is still afraid to make noise,” the father said.
Warning of attacks in Germany
The head of Germany’s secret services warned that the risk of Islamist attacks in his country is “real and greater than has been the case for a long time” as a result of the war between Israel and Hamas. “We see calls in jihadist circles for attacks and for the participation of al-Qaeda and Islamic State in the conflict in the Middle East,” Thomas Haldenwang said in a statement on the eve of President Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s visit to Israel.
Two weeks ago, German authorities shut down the activities of the Islamic organizations Samidoun and Hirak and announced the total end of Hamas’s activities, which had become illegal in the country in 2020. Recently, a large-scale police operation searched 54 locations linked to the Islamic terror group. Center of Hamburg and other associated groups.
The deadliest attack by Islamist terrorists in Germany was carried out by an IS militant who drove a truck into a Christmas market in Berlin in 2016, killing 12 people.
Source: DN
