Madras Times - Israel ups pressure on Gaza City as Trump talks post-war plan

Israel is under mounting pressure both at home and abroad to end its almost two-year campaign in Gaza, where the United Nations has declared a famine.

Mediators have circulated a truce proposal which has been accepted by Palestinian militant group Hamas, whose October 2023 attack triggered the devastating war. But Israel has yet to give an official response.

On the ground, Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least 38 people on Wednesday, including 16 in Gaza City.

The Israeli military, which is preparing to conquer Gaza City, said troops were operating on the outskirts of the territory's largest city "to locate and dismantle terror infrastructure sites".

As aid groups have warned against expanding the Israeli offensive, the army's Arabic-language spokesman, Avichay Adraee, said on X that Gaza City's evacuation was "inevitable".

The vast majority of the Gaza Strip's population of more than two million people have been displaced at least once during the war.

In Jabalia, just north of Gaza City, resident Hamad al-Karawi said he had left his home after a message broadcast from a drone ordered people to evacuate immediately.

"We scattered out onto the streets with no place or home to take refuge in," he told AFP.

- 'Death follows you' -

Axios and the BBC reported that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair attended a meeting at the White House late Wednesday to discuss plans for post-war Gaza. Axios said Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner also took part.

No details emerged from the gathering, which Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff had earlier promised would be "large meeting".

"It's a very comprehensive plan we're putting together," Witkoff told Fox News, without offering more details.

Trump stunned the world earlier this year when he suggested the United States should take control of the Gaza Strip, clear out its inhabitants and redevelop it as seaside real estate.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the proposal, which sparked a global outcry.

Witkoff in his interview accused Hamas of having "slow-played" the negotiations process. Senior Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq accused Witkoff of echoing "Netanyahu and his government of war criminals".

In Gaza City's Zeitoun neighbourhood on Wednesday, residents reported heavy Israeli bombardment overnight.

"Some neighbours have fled... But wherever you flee, death follows you," said Tala al-Khatib, 29.

Zeitoun resident Abdel Hamid al-Sayfi, 62, said he had avoided going outside.

"Whoever steps outside is fired upon by the drones," he told AFP.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.

- 'Starvation as weapon of war' -

The UN declared a famine in Gaza governorate last week, blaming "systematic obstruction" of humanitarian deliveries by Israel.

On Wednesday, Israel called on the UN-backed hunger monitor, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC), to retract the report, arguing it was "fabricated".

After a UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday, 14 members -- all but Israel's top ally the United States -- issued a joint declaration saying they trusted the IPC's work.

"The use of starvation as a weapon of war is clearly prohibited under international humanitarian law. Famine in Gaza must be stopped immediately," the declaration said.

Save the Children's president Inger Ashing told the Security Council that the charity's "clinics are almost silent," adding: "Now, children do not have the strength to speak or even cry out in agony."

Out of 251 hostages seized during Hamas's 2023 attack, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.

Netanyahu last week said he ordered immediate negotiations aimed at securing the release of all remaining captives, while also doubling down on the plan to seize Gaza City.

Key mediator Qatar said on Tuesday it was still "waiting for an answer" from Israel on the latest ceasefire proposal, which would see the staggered release of hostages in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli custody over an initial 60-day truce.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 62,895 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the UN considers reliable.

J.Srivastava--MT