Israel accuses Hamas of engineering food crisis in Gaza

The Trump administration’s Steve Witkoff was meanwhile set to meet with a senior Israeli official about ceasefire talks, a sign that lower-level negotiations that have dragged on for weeks could be approaching a breakthrough.

Naeema, a 30-year-old Palestinian mother, carries her malnourished 2-year-old son Yazan as they stand in their damaged home in the Al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, on Wednesday. Picture: AFP

The Israeli government insists it is not responsible for a chronic shortage of food in Gaza, instead accusing Palestinian militants Hamas of deliberately creating a crisis. “In Gaza today there is no famine caused by Israel,” government spokesman David Mencer told reporters after more than 100 aid and rights groups warned of “mass starvation” and urged Israel to unblock aid.

“There is a man-made shortage engineered by Hamas,” Mr Mencer added, accusing the militants of preventing food from being distributed and looting aid for themselves.

The Trump administration’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was meanwhile set to meet with a senior Israeli official about ceasefire talks, a sign that lower-level negotiations that have dragged on for weeks could be approaching a breakthrough.

Aid groups say Gaza is at risk of famine because of Israel’s blockade and offensive, launched in response to Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack. Israel says it allows enough aid into the territory and faults delivery efforts by UN agencies, which say they are hindered by Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of security.

Hamas has said it will only release the remaining 50 hostages it holds, around 20 of them believed to be alive, in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal, while Israel has vowed to recover all the captives and continue the war until Hamas has been defeated or disarmed.

‘Chaos, starvation and death’

In an open letter, 115 organisations, including major international aid groups like Doctors Without Borders, Mercy Corps and Save the Children, said they were watching their own colleagues, as well as the Palestinians they serve, “waste away.” It blamed Israeli restrictions and “massacres” at aid distribution points. Witnesses, health officials and the UN human rights office say Israeli forces have repeatedly fired on crowds seeking aid, killing more than 1000 people. Israel says its forces have only fired warning shots and that the death toll is exaggerated.

“The government of Israel’s restrictions, delays, and fragmentation under its total siege have created chaos, starvation, and death,” the letter said.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry rejected the criticism and accused the groups of “echoing Hamas’ propaganda.” It said it has allowed around 4,500 aid trucks to enter Gaza since lifting a complete blockade in May, and that more than 700 are waiting to be picked up and distributed by the United Nations.

That’s an average of around 70 trucks a day, the lowest rate of the war and far below the 500-600 trucks a day the UN says are needed, and which entered during a six-week ceasefire earlier this year.

The UN says it has struggled to deliver aid inside Gaza because of Israeli military restrictions, ongoing fighting, and a breakdown of law and order. An alternative system established by Israel and an American contractor has been marred by violence and controversy.

Top adviser to Netanyahu will meet US envoy in Rome

An official familiar with ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas said Ron Dermer, a top adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was travelling to Rome to meet Mr Witkoff on Thursday to discuss the state of the talks.

The official spoke Wednesday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the sensitive negotiations.

US officials said Mr Witkoff planned to head to Europe this week. The State Department spokesman said he was headed to the Middle East in a sign that momentum may be building toward a deal.

The evolving deal, which is still being hammered out, is expected to include a 60-day ceasefire in which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others in phases in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Aid supplies would be ramped up and the two sides would hold negotiations on a lasting truce.

AP, AFP