‘Keep Palestinian state hope alive’

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on his latest mission to rein in the Gaza offensive, told Israeli leaders yesterday there was still a chance of winning acceptance from their Arab neighbours, if they create a path to a viable Palestinian state.

On his fourth trip to the region since October in a so far largely fruitless quest to tamp down the violence, Blinken said he would share what he had heard in two days of talks with Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

The Israeli offensive has killed 23,210 Palestinians so far, destroyed much of Gaza and displaced most of the population of 2.3 million at least once, creating a dramatic and worsening humanitarian crisis. Some 126 Palestinians were killed and 241 were wounded in the 24 hours, the Gaza health ministry said yesterday.

After weeks of US pressure to tamp down its assault, Israel said its forces are transitioning from full-blown warfare to a more targeted campaign in the northern half of Gaza.

It said troops had killed around 40 Palestinian fighters and raided a compound and tunnel shafts since Monday during expanded operations in Khan Younis in the south.

The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said 57 Palestinians killed by Israeli air strikes and 65 wounded had arrived in the past 24 hours at the already badly overstretched Al Aqsa hospital in the centre of the 45 km long Gaza Strip, reports Reuters.

The vast humanitarian crisis has put pressure in particular on the United States, Israel’s closest ally, to press for the assault on Gaza to be scaled back.

The UN humanitarian office OCHA said that “as casualties rise, the ability to treat them continues to be in jeopardy”.

It said three hospitals in central Gaza and Khan Younis, including Al Aqsa, were “at risk of closure due to the issuance of evacuation orders in nearby areas and the ongoing conduct of hostilities nearby”.

Late on Monday, the medical charity MSF said a shell had broken through the wall of one of its shelters in Khan Younis housing over 100 staff and their families, critically wounding the 5-year-old daughter of an MSF staffer.

Israel’s relentless bombardment and its restrictions on humanitarian access to Gaza have prompted South Africa to file a lawsuit in the International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of genocidal actions against Palestinians. Hearings are due to begin tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah launched explosive drones at an army base in northern Israel yesterday, declaring the attack part of its response to recent Israeli assassinations in Lebanon, as sources reported three Hezbollah fighters killed in an Israeli strike.

• 3 hospitals in Gaza “at risk of closure”: OCHA
• Israel faces ‘genocide’ case at UN top court
• Hezbollah hits Israeli base with drones
• Gaza death toll rises to 23,210