Three-point US solution to the Israel-Hamas crisis; intensifying close-quarters fighting in Gaza

Several Middle Eastern countries denounce the attack against the refugee camp as Israel intensifies its military assault into Gaza. Following the surprise attack on October 7, Israel launched a military offensive against Hamas, the Islamist organisation in charge of the coastal Palestinian enclave of Gaza. Over the weekend, the troops crossed the Gaza border in a “second phase” of retaliation.The Israel Defence Force (IDF) announced on Tuesday that it had assassinated a senior Hamas official who was in charge of the October 7 attack, which involved a string of bombings on Gaza’s main metropolis and the destruction of multiple buildings at a refugee camp, killing at least fifty Palestinians.

The US has been talking about a three-point plan to resolve the crisis in the Palestinian enclave, which would help put an end to the fighting and address the demand for a sovereign state for the Palestinian people.

1. Several Middle-Eastern countries including UAE, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have condemned the Israeli attack at the refugee camp saying it will ‘result in irreparable ramifications in the region’.
2. UN and other aid officials said civilians in the besieged Palestinian enclave were engulfed by a public health catastrophe, with hospitals struggling to treat casualties as electricity supplies petered out. Ashraf Al-Qidra, spokesperson for the health ministry in Gaza said power generators in al Shifa Medical complex and the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza will stop in hours.
3. Israeli families of victims of the October 7 attack appealed to the International Criminal Court on Tuesday to order an investigation into the killings and abductions. Israel is not a member of the Hague-based court and refuses to recognise its jurisdiction.