Zürcher Nachrichten - Gaza strikes kill 120 as Hamas says aid entry 'minimum requirement' for talks

Aid to Gaza has been cut off since March 2, a tactic Israel has said is intended to force concessions from Hamas, but the group insisted on Thursday that the restoration of humanitarian assistance to the war-ravaged territory was "the minimum requirement" for talks.

It also warned that Gaza was not "for sale" hours after US President Donald Trump, on a visit to the region, again floated taking over the territory and turning it into "a freedom zone".

Gaza's civil defence agency said the death toll from Israeli bombardment since dawn on Thursday had risen to 120.

Israel's aid blockade preceded a resumption of military operations on March 18, ending a ceasefire that had largely halted hostilities since mid-January.

For weeks, UN agencies have warned that supplies of everything from food and clean water to fuel and medicines are reaching new lows.

The World Health Organization said the last hospital in Gaza providing cancer and cardiac care had stopped functioning after an Israeli attack on Tuesday left it "severely damaged and inaccessible".

UN special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese, accused Israel of "killing what's left of Humanity".

AFPTV footage from the aftermath of a strike on Deir al-Balah in the centre of the territory showed flattened buildings and piles of concrete rubble.

"We pray for this war to end, and we appeal to all international institutions to end the war because enough is enough," said Gaza resident Maher Ghanem, his arm in a sling.

- Gaza not 'for sale' -

Following the latest deaths, Hamas called on the international community to hold Israel to account for what it described as a "barbaric escalation".

Israel says its aid stoppage and military pressure are meant to force Hamas to free the remaining hostages seized during the October 2023 attack that triggered the war.

But senior Hamas official Basem Naim said the entry of aid into Gaza was "the minimum requirement for a conducive and constructive negotiation environment".

"Access to food, water, and medicine is a fundamental human right -- not a subject for negotiation," he added.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-supported NGO, said it would begin distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza this month after talks with Israeli officials.

But the United Nations on Thursday ruled out involvement with the initiative.

"As we've stated repeatedly, this particular distribution plan does not accord with our basic principles, including those of impartiality, neutrality, independence, and we will not be participating in this," UN spokesman Farhan Haq said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged the criticism of the plan and said Washington was "open to an alternative if someone has a better one".

Trump said he wanted the United States to "get involved" in Gaza.

"I have concepts for Gaza that I think are very good... let the United States get involved and make it just a freedom zone," he said on the Qatar leg of a Gulf tour, adding he would be "proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone".

The comments echoed a widely condemned idea he floated in February for the United States to "take over" the devastated territory and redevelop it into "the Riviera of the Middle East".

Hamas official Naim said "Gaza is an integral part of Palestinian land -- it is not real estate for sale on the open market".

The United Nations estimates that 70 percent of Gaza is now either an Israeli-declared no-go zone or under evacuation order.

The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said 2,876 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 53,010.

The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Of the 251 hostages taken during the attack, 57 remain in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead.

- West Bank raids -

In the occupied West Bank, meanwhile, raids were ongoing and roads blocked after Israel's military chief vowed to find the perpetrators of an attack that killed a pregnant Israeli woman.

WhatsApp groups for Israeli settlers in the territory were rife with calls for vengeance in retaliation for the attack.

In the northern village of Tammun, Israeli troops killed five Palestinians in a raid the military described as targeting buildings suspected of being used to plan attacks.

T.Gerber--NZN