 "Displaced Palestinians flee from Khan Younis, Gaza, amid the ongoing Israeli military offensive in the area. AP")
Even as outrage over the hunger crisis in the Gaza Strip is rising worldwide by the day, an Israeli official has said that escalation is likely unavoidable.
As a result of Israel restricting the flow of aid into Gaza, the Palestinian enclave is in the grips of severe hunger crisis. Palestinians have not just been starving to deaths, but hundreds of them have also been killed while awaiting food at distribution sites .
While Palestinians have blamed these deaths on Israeli gunfire and airstrikes, Israel has blamed Hamas. Evidence of Israeli firing at Palestinians awaiting food supplies has, however, emerged. The United Nations (UN) on Thursday published a video that showed Israeli bullets landing merely inches away from Palestinians sitting on the ground and awaiting a UN convoy carrying food.
Amid such conditions, an Israeli official has told The Jerusalem Post that no real negotiations are taking place with Hamas at the moment and escalation is likely unavoidable in the strip.
The statement comes days after Israeli media reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held discussions for completely blocking the flow of aid into Gaza and occupying or even annexing the entirety of Gaza .
Israeli official suggests talks with Hamas have almost collapsed
The feeling in the Israeli government is that talks with Hamas are nearing collapse, the official told The Post.
“It now seems that an expanded military operation in Gaza is inevitable,” the official told the newspaper.
The official further said that Hamas has cut off contact with Israel and there are no real negotiations with the group at the moment.
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View AllHamas has also partially severed ties with Qatar and Egypt, a second official told the newspaper.
At the moment, Hamas is primarily engaged in talks with Turkey, this official said.
What this means for US-facilitated talks between Israel and Hamas is not immediately known. Traditionally, Egypt and Qatar have mediated indirect talks between Israel and Hamas.
Currently, Steve Witkoff, the US Special Envoy for Middle East, is in Israel. He held talks with Netanyahu on Thursday. Parts of the meeting was one-on-one and no details have come out of it. After the meeting, an official told The Post that the Trump administration and Israel were “aligned” on their next steps.
Even as Trump acknowledged Gaza’s hunger crisis and dismissed Netanyahu’s dismissal of the crisis in recent days , he appeared to change the tone on Thursday and put the blame on Hamas.
“The fastest way to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is for Hamas to surrender and release the hostages!” said Trump on social media.
The UN has said that at least 74 Palestinians have died from hunger and malnutrition in Gaza, with 63 of these deaths in July alone. Palestinians have further said that more than 1,000 people have been killed while trying to get killed in Israeli gunfire and airstrikes.