Gaza: the fate of civilians hangs on truce negotiations

After almost five months of Israeli operations in Gaza, the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave is more than critical. The UN now believes that famine is inevitable and that a halt to the fighting is necessary to avoid a massacre. With the threat of an Israeli offensive on the town of Rafah, there is no longer a combat-free zone in which to take refuge.

Intense diplomatic negotiations – in which the United States and Qatar are playing a leading role – are under way to reach a new 40-day truce during Ramadan. The release of the 132 Israeli hostages is also at the centre of concerns: part of the Israeli population is putting pressure on its government to find them as quickly as possible. Washington, Israel’s staunch ally, is beginning to harden its position vis-à-vis Netanyahu in order to find a way out of the conflict, with Joe Biden’s support for an increasingly controversial Israeli operation weighing on his presidential campaign…

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