US Claims Effort To Restore Humanitarian Pause In Gaza

Sambuh WHO via news.un.org

JAKARTA - The United States on Friday said it was working with countries in the Middle East to restore the humanitarian break in the Gaza Strip after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas ended.

US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Washington was working with Israel, Egypt, and Qatar for a ceasefire to continue. He blamed the Palestinian Hamas group for the end of the ceasefire.

"Let's be clear about this. This pause ends because of Hamas. They are unable to provide a list of hostages who can help extend the pause. So the responsibility lies with Hamas to provide a list of hostages who can leave so that we can try to restore this pause," Kirby added as quoted by ANTARA from Anadolu, Saturday, December 2.

On Friday morning, Israel and Hamas accused each other of violating the seven-day humanitarian break which began on November 24.

The Israeli army continued the intensive attack on the Gaza Strip on Friday morning after declaring the humanitarian break ended. This attack resulted in hundreds of Palestinians being victims.

At least 178 Palestinians have died and 589 others have been injured since Israel resumed its attacks, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said in Gaza.

The humanitarian break began November 24 as part of a deal between Israel and Hamas to temporarily halt fighting to allow exchanges of Palestinian hostages and detainees, as well as the expansion of humanitarian aid deliveries.

Kirby said Israel agreed to continue sending aid to Gaza "at our request" after preventing aid trucks from entering the Gaza and Egypt border in Rafah when the ceasefire ended.

However, he stressed that the number of trucks was likely to be in the tens, not hundreds as seen during the ceasefire.

"It looks like it's a good sign going forward," he said.

"Now they have reduced the type of aid that is allowed to enter... but it looks like we can continue."

Before learning the Israeli spokesman's statement announcing Israel's military operations resumed, Kirby had called on Israel to reopen aid deliveries such as the time of the ceasefire.

More than 15,000 Palestinians, mostly children and women, have been killed by Israeli attacks since the war began on October 7, 2023.

In Gaza, about 80 percent of its population has fled, and about half of the housing in the coastal area is damaged or destroyed, the United Nations said.