Israel using same tactics to pressure Hamas during negotiations
Israel has been using strong-arm methods every time there is a deadlock in the negotiations process, Tamer Qarmout, associate professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, tells Al Jazeera.
“If Hamas does not compromise, then they massacre more Palestinians, and this has been the modus operandi since the beginning,” he said. “The Trump administration wants a victory, but at whose expense? The Americans and Israelis are expecting the Palestinians to pay the price, as if they hadn’t paid enough so far.”
Qarmout said Hamas is fighting a “liberation war” and will not surrender. “But I believe that Hamas is willing to look at dignified exits that preserve the minimum dignity of the Palestinian people.”
A key requirement for the group has been achieving a permanent ceasefire that puts an end to the war, but so far, Israel and the US have not included this in any proposal.
Israeli attacks on homes ‘dismantling civilian life’ in Gaza City
Attacks have intensified in Gaza City for the second day in a row. The Israeli military has been targeting residential buildings. We’re talking about five-storey buildings and above.
It’s more than just a crisis right now. It’s the dismantling of civilian life. Many of these buildings were not just residential. They were businesses, offices, student centres. And now they are just rubble.
Close to 70 buildings have been destroyed, and the bombings, drone strikes and artillery shelling does not stop. Residents are only given a short window of time to gather their belongings and whatever food supplies they have.
It is widely believed the Israeli military is pursuing this strategy to push people further into displacement. This time, it’s not only inside Gaza City but as part of Israel’s plan to transfer the population into the southern part of the Strip.
The fact that we’re seeing this number of buildings completely flattened in the past 48 hours is an indication this strategy is already being implemented.
Palestinians evacuate the wounded from the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Gaza City
