Location at a glance: Trump to Gaza deal: maybe this week

There is still no breakthrough in the indirect negotiations on an ceasefire between Israel and Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip. “We’ll talk to each other and hopefully will be able to clarify this in the course of the next week. Let’s see what happens,” said US President Donald Trump in front of journalists on Sunday. In the past few weeks, Trump had repeatedly mentioned such time spans for a possible agreement, but all of them were unsuccessful. The USA, Qatar and Egypt act as an intermediary between Israel and Hamas.

Delegations of Israel and Hamas are still in the Qatarian capital Doha to indirectly negotiate about a possible 60-day ceasefire and the release of hostages. According to the Israeli newspaper “” Yedioth Achronot “, however, the mood has changed from optimism to” pessimism and caution “. The extent of the Israeli troop deduction from Gaza continues to be a central point of dispute during the fire break.

The Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz had said at the beginning of last week that Israel wanted to build a “humanitarian city” in southern Gaza Strip for 600,000 Palestinians displaced. Critics speak of an internment camp that could be associated with a long -term forced deportation. Israel speaks of enabling Palestinians a “voluntary departure”. For Hamas, remaining of Israeli troops in such a large area is unacceptable.

No fuel: municipalities in Gaza have to hire services

Meanwhile, several municipalities in the middle and southern section of the Gaza Strip announced the hiring of municipal services due to the lack of fuel supply. In a joint explanation, the municipalities stated that they were forced to have to set the operation of wells, sewage treatment plants and garbage vehicles because of the import limits imposed by Israel. This is threatening to worsen the already precarious health situation.

UN organizations warn of collapse of humanitarian aid

Seven UN organizations that provide humanitarian aid in Gaza had already warned of the potentially catastrophic consequences of the lack of fuel. “Without adequate fuel supply, Gaza is heading for the collapse of humanitarian aid,” said the statement, which the organizations, including the Palestinian Aid Work Unrwa and the World Health Organization WHO, published together.

In the hospitals, the lights would already go out, birth and intensive care units would be able to fail, ambulance could no longer be exhausted. Bakeries and shared kitchens are also dependent on fuel for their operation, as are the water treatment and sewage treatment plants. It threatens to arise a situation that “the families delivered to the outbreak of deadly diseases and bring most of the vulnerable people in Gaza even closer to death”. Israel controls all access to the Gaza Strip.

Health authority: More than 58,000 deaths since the beginning of the war

The Gaza War triggered the unprecedented attack by Hamas and other Islamist terrorist organizations to Israel on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were delayed to Gaza as hostages. Since then, according to the health authority controlled by the Hamas, more than 58,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed. The barely verifiable number does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.