Hamas, the radical Palestinian movement, has reached out to the ongoing summit of Arab and Islamic states in Saudi Arabia, requesting the formation of special committees to be sent to the “Rafah” checkpoint on the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. The purpose of these committees would be to monitor the situation and ensure the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid to the enclave. This information was reported in the movement’s Telegram channel.
Hamas hopes that these committees will help “counter Israeli occupation” and ensure the full and continuous delivery of necessary medical supplies, food products, and fuel to the Gaza Strip.
The movement is convinced that such a step is necessary to save hospitals in the Gaza Strip, which have either ceased to function or will soon cease to operate, “and prevent them from becoming mass graves.”
Hamas leaders expressed hope that Arab and Islamic leaders would make a historic decision aimed at urgently ending “Israeli aggression” against the Palestinian enclave, as well as exert pressure on the US administration, which allegedly bears “direct responsibility for the aggression” against the Palestinian people in Gaza.
The situation in the Middle East has escalated following the infiltration of thousands of Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory on October 7, when Hamas announced the start of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation. In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the country was in a state of war.
The goal of Israel’s counter-operation, “Iron Swords,” was to repel the attack, free over 200 hostages, including foreigners, and destroy Hamas. As part of achieving this goal, Israel conducted massive rocket attacks on the Gaza Strip from the first day of the operation. In addition, the Israeli National Security Council decided to halt the supply of water, food, goods, electricity, and fuel to the enclave. Humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza began only after October 20, and their volume is considered insufficient.
On October 27, Israel announced the “expansion” of its ground operation in Gaza. The exact start date of this operation is unknown, but hundreds of thousands of Palestinians had already left their homes and sought shelter or moved to the south of the enclave before it began. On November 5, as part of the ground operation, the Israeli Defense Forces surrounded the city of Gaza and cut off its supply routes. Fighting is still ongoing in the center of Gaza.
Earlier, Hamas stated that it would release foreign hostages “when circumstances allow.”
