Hamas "reviews" US ceasefire proposal as last hospital in North Gaza closes
The closure of the last functioning hospital in North Gaza has "severed a critical lifeline for the people there", warned WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus today, after the al-Awda hospital’s director confirmed that all patients have been evacuated.
According to Dr Mohammed Salha, the hospital faced heavy bombing and shooting from Israeli tanks yesterday and the evacuation occurred last night after seven hours of negotiations with the Israeli military. “[They] threatened us that if we didn’t evacuate, they would enter and kill whoever is inside,” said Dr Salha in a voicenote to the BBC.
Patients have now been taken to al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. According to the OCHA, Israel has killed more than 1,400 health workers in Gaza since October 2023.
The IDF hasn’t responded to Dr Salha’s reports but it told the BBC last week that it was "operating in the area against terror targets", and was "not aware of any siege on the hospital itself".
Today, French President Emmanuel Macron became the latest European leader to issue a stern, albeit vague, warning to the Israeli government: “If there is no response in the coming hours and days in line with the humanitarian situation, we will have to harden our collective position”.
Speaking during his visit to Singapore, he added that recognition of a Palestinian state is “not only a moral duty, but a political necessity”.
Macron is hoping to build momentum for a conditional recognition of Palestinian statehood, which would require, among other things, the demilitarisation of Hamas, ahead of the UN conference France is co-hosting with Saudi Arabia in mid-June, with the aim of laying out the parameters for a roadmap to a Palestinian state, while ensuring Israel’s security.
Yet this goal appears more remote than ever. Yesterday, Israeli ministers approved 22 new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, in what would amount to the largest expansion of settlements in over three decades. Today, while on a visit to the Israeli settlement of Sha Nur, Netanyahu’s far-right defence-minister, Israel Katz, is cited in Israeli media as saying: “This is a historic moment for settlement, a crushing answer to the terrorist organisations and a clear message to Macron and his friends: you will recognise a Palestinian state on paper and the paper will be thrown into the dustbin of history”.
This comes as the White House says that the Israeli government has accepted a new US-proposed ceasefire plan, which outlines a 60-day truce and a phased exchange of Palestinian prisoners with Israeli hostages, at least 20 of whom are thought to still be alive.
Hamas - which states that any temporary ceasefire it signs must guarantee a permanent ceasefire and full Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza - says the proposal fails to meet its “core demands”.
Meanwhile, “total victory” in Gaza remains the core demand of Netanyahu’s cabinet.
While Hamas is yet to reject the latest US proposal outright, the chances of this temporary ceasefire bearing fruit appear slim.
Caitlin Allen
Deputy Editor
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