Israel not doing enough to protect civilians, say UN and EU

After mounting international pressure, Israel said it will “temporarily” open two more crossings – the Erez land crossing and the port of Ashdod. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said those crossings are “not enough to prevent starvation in Gaza”. 

UN secretary General Antonio Guterres expressed hope that “these intentions are effectively and quickly materialized”, but emphasized that “dramatic humanitarian conditions require a quantum leap in the delivery of life-saving aid – a true paradigm shift.”

Meanwhile, the truce talks in Cairo may stall again. CNN reported on Friday that Hamas rejected the latest Israeli proposal on hostage swap and ceasefire, “asserted it doesn’t include any reply to their asks”, “Israeli proposal includes nothing new”. Security officials of US and Israel planned to continue talks in Cairo this weekend, but Israeli media report that “the rejection by Hamas has led Israeli officials to publicly wonder whether there is any point in continuing negotiations”.

US president Joe Biden took an attempt to stimulate the process: according to “The Times of Israel”, quoting an unnamed source in Biden’s administration, US President wrote letters to the leaders of Egypt and Qatar, calling on them “to press Hamas to agree to a hostage deal with Israel”.