Gaza battles rage despite UN chief’s call for ceasefire

On Sunday, Israel conducted airstrikes in Gaza, where its troops clashed with militants across the territory, following an Israeli order for evacuations that led hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee from Rafah.

Now in its seventh month, the conflict between Israel and Hamas prompted U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to call for “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages, and a significant increase in humanitarian aid” to Gaza, speaking at a donor conference in Kuwait. Guterres emphasized that while a ceasefire was necessary, it was merely the beginning of recovery from the extensive damage and trauma caused by the war.

Efforts by Egypt, Qatar, and the U.S. to broker peace seemed to falter. However, U.S. President Joe Biden optimistically stated on Saturday that a ceasefire could be imminent if Hamas were to release hostages taken during the October 7 incident that initiated the conflict.

Israeli airstrikes targeted Gaza’s northern, central, and southern regions overnight and continued into Sunday morning. The southernmost city of Rafah, on the Egyptian border, experienced significant casualties with a local hospital reporting 18 deaths due to the strikes within the last day.

At least two were killed in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah—a father and son, both physicians, per Gaza’s civil defense reports. Despite earlier Israeli claims of dismantling Hamas’s command in northern Gaza, violence flared again recently in Jabalia refugee camp and Gaza City’s Zeitun neighborhood.

Military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari noted late Saturday that Hamas was attempting to reestablish its military presence in Jabalia, prompting Israeli actions to thwart these efforts.

Israeli forces and helicopters were reported by AFP to be actively engaged in combat in Zeitun and Jabalia early Sunday.

The conflict began with a major attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, which, according to Israel, resulted in over 1,170 deaths. Hamas captured several hostages during this attack, with 128 still believed to be held in Gaza after some were released during a November truce.

Israel’s counteroffensive has been devastating, with the Hamas-run health ministry citing at least 34,971 casualties in Gaza, predominantly women and children.

This week, Israel intensified its operations, deploying tanks and troops into eastern Rafah and closing a crucial aid crossing, which led to an expanded evacuation directive affecting about 300,000 Palestinians.

The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, echoed this figure, criticizing the “forced and inhumane displacement” on social media platform X, highlighting the dire conditions for those with no safe haven in Gaza.

Amid ongoing shelling, Rafah residents hastily fled, relocating essential belongings westward within the city, although many, like 24-year-old Mohammed Hamad, vowed to stay unless the danger escalated further.

European Union chief Charles Michel expressed on social media that civilians were being directed to “unsafe zones,” condemning the actions as unacceptable. Furthermore, the Rafah crossing has been closed since Israeli forces seized it, hindering both aid entry and critical medical evacuations, according to Hisham Adwan of the Gaza crossings authority.

Protests erupted internationally, including at the Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden, where demonstrators voiced their condemnation of Israel’s actions.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remained firm on eliminating Hamas forces in Rafah, as domestic pressures mounted for a truce and the safe return of hostages. This domestic unrest was highlighted by a significant protest in Tel Aviv following a statement by Hamas’s armed wing about the death of an Israeli-British hostage, though the Israeli military has not commented on the claim.