At least 28 Palestinians have been killed so far in Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip since Friday dawn, medical Sources in Gaza hospitals have told Al Jazeera.
Israel is continuing its relentless attacks on the north of the Strip where the Israeli military issued forced evacuation orders earlier in the day.
Al-Jazeera also reports; Israeli forces have shot and wounded at least 20 people seeking aid at the newest distribution point set up by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in central Gaza.
Meanwhile, Hamas is currently reviewing a new ceasefire proposal the United States says has been signed off on by Israel, but that in its current form will only result in more killings in Gaza.
Israel intensifies attacks on northern Gaza as Hamas considers ceasefire proposal.
Israel has issued new forced displacement orders for residents of northern Gaza. Families were forced to wait until sunrise to begin escaping as Israel intensifies its ground operation in the area.
This escalation coincides with the US-brokered ceasefire proposal that outlines a 60-day truce and a phased prisoner exchange with Israeli captives.
Hamas has not delivered its response yet, but the intensification of Israel’s military campaign could be seen as an attempt to put pressure on Hamas to back down and agree to this proposal.
Macron threatens sanctions on Israelis over Gaza aid crisis
French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that his country could “apply sanctions” against Israelis unless the government in Tel Aviv responds to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Speaking during a visit to Singapore on Friday, Macron said the international community could not remain passive while Palestinians in Gaza face a deepening hunger crisis. The comments raise further the international pressure building on Israel, which has blockaded the Palestinian enclave for close to three months, with aid agencies warning of famine.
“The humanitarian blockade is creating a situation that is untenable on the ground,” Macron said at a joint news conference alongside Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
“If there is no response in the coming hours and days in line with the humanitarian situation, we will have to harden our collective position,” he added, suggesting that France may consider applying sanctions against Israeli settlers.
Israel recently said it was bowing to international pressure and would allow “minimal” supplies of food and medicine into Gaza, on which it continues to wage an intense military assault.
However, the trickle of aid entering the strip under the control of a new NGO backed by Israel and the United States has been accompanied by looting and violence.
In his comments, Macron called for an end to assumptions that Israel is respecting human rights.
“But I still hope that the government of Israel will change its stance and that we will finally have a humanitarian response,” he added.
The French leader also stressed that recognition of a Palestinian state is “not only a moral duty, but a political necessity,” although he added that its establishment would need to come under specific conditions.
His remarks followed a joint statement earlier in the week with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto condemning any Israeli plans to seize control of Gaza or expel its population.
Paris is hoping to rally momentum for a conditional recognition of Palestinian statehood, which would require, among other things, the demilitarisation of Hamas.
French officials are weighing up the move ahead of a United Nations conference, which France and Saudi Arabia are co-hosting between June 17-20, to lay out the parameters for a roadmap to a Palestinian state, while ensuring Israel’s security.
However, some diplomats and experts suggest that such moves would infuriate Israel and deepen Western splits.
