‘Tactics of starvation’: Belgian PM discusses Gaza in Qatar
The Qatari foreign ministry says Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo met his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani. The two discussed the latest developments in Gaza and occupied Palestinian territory, “emphasising the need to accelerate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Strip without obstacles”.
De Croo earlier said during a meeting with UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini that Israel needs to provide more humanitarian access to Gaza, and also criticised it for its “tactics of starvation”.
Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Meets Belgian Prime Minister#MOFAQatar pic.twitter.com/wl5047CacJ
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Qatar (@MofaQatar_EN) March 16, 2024
Groundhog day, except every day it does get worse
‘This humanitarian catastrophe must not be allowed to worsen’
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says he’s “gravely concerned” about the Israeli plan for a ground invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza. “Further escalation of violence in this densely populated area would lead to many more deaths and suffering, especially with health facilities already overwhelmed,” he wrote on X.
Ghebreyesus said more than one million Palestinians in the southernmost city in Gaza, many of whom have been forcibly displaced by Israeli attacks, have no fully functional and safe health facilities and many are too sick or hungry to move again.
“This humanitarian catastrophe must not be allowed to worsen.”
I’m gravely concerned about reports of an Israeli plan to proceed with a ground assault on Rafah. Further escalation of violence in this densely populated area would lead to many more deaths and suffering, especially with health facilites already overwhelmed. #Gaza pic.twitter.com/hWichKUKj9
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) March 16, 2024
Israel’s Smotrich wants Netanyahu to block delegation to Doha truce talks
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to forbid a negotiating team from leaving for Doha to engage in truce talks. He wrote in a post on X that he was proven right when he opposed previous attempts to secure an agreement in talks in Paris and Qatar that were ultimately unsuccessful.
“The delusional Hamas stance shows the supporters of the deal in the war cabinet and security establishments have lost their way,” the ultranationalist lawmaker wrote. “Netanyahu must order the delegation to remain in Israel and the [military] to enter Rafah immediately and increase the military pressure until Hamas is destroyed.”
Some more senators are waking up, still a small minority :/
Democratic senator calls on Biden to use arms supplies as leverage against Israel
Democratic US Senator Chris Van Holler says Biden should use Washington’s arms supplies to Israel as leverage to change how Israel is behaving in its war on Gaza. “We need the president and the Biden administration to push harder and to use all the levers of US policy to ensure people don’t die of starvation,” the Maryland senator was quoted as saying in an interview with the London-based Guardian newspaper.
Van Hollen and seven other senators, including Bernie Sanders and Jeff Merkley, this week sent a letter to the president to argue that Israel is violating US legislation that prohibits the sale and transfer of military weapons to any nation that restricts the delivery of US aid.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu has been an obstacle to the president’s efforts to at least create some light at the end of this very dark tunnel,” Van Hollen said.
More dissent in Israel as well
Senior politician threatens to quit Israeli government if not appointed to war cabinet
Gideon Sa’ar, the head of the New Hope party in Israel, says he will resign from the government if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refuses to appoint him to the war cabinet.
The politician joined a unity government as part of an emergency measure after the start of the war and his threat on Saturday to join the opposition comes days after he ended a partnership with war cabinet minister Benny Gantz’s party.
Sa’ar has given Netanyahu a deadline of “several days” to appoint him, according to Israeli media. “Each day, we move further away from victory,” Sa’ar said. “There is no concrete plan as I understand it to destroy the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas.”
Sa'ar also opposes the creation of a Palestinian state, doesn't matter what side he ends up on
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/new-hope-party
